Lawyers from Moldova are participating during May 26-30 in a training course in the field of juvenile justice. The training is organized by the Moldovan Bar Association with the technical support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) as part of the project “Reform of the juvenile justice system in Moldova”, Info-Prim Neo reports. Bar vice-president Petru Munteanu remarked at the opening of the course the major importance of the event to the Moldovan lawyers, expressing his belief that the trainees will provide high-standard legal assistance to the minors that are in conflict with the law, thus contributing to the observance of their rights and freedoms. In this connection, the UNICEF representative for Moldova Ray Virgilio Torres has noted that at present 85 per cent of Moldovan children that are in conflict with the law do not enjoy adequate legal assistance. However, the UNICEF representative has said that Moldova is making the fastest progress on the path towards a better juvenile justice. Since 2006 when the first amendments were brought to the criminal laws concerning juveniles, the number of sentenced children has reduced by half, remarked Torres. The training course is run by American lawyer Brigid Kennedy Pfister, who is specialized in juvenile crime, and several national trainers, university lecturers and lawyers with rich experience in the field. The program includes topics like international and European standards in juvenile justice; the activity of lawyers in cases involving minors who are in conflict with the law, victimized children and underage witnesses; the work of lawyers in detention places; criminal punishments ordered in juvenile cases; ethical aspects; particularities of psychological and social development of children; and other. “The reform of the juvenile justice system” project, a common effort by the UNICEF and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), covers a timeframe of four years and aims to continuously improve the levels of observance of the rights of children in conflict with the law – the right to decent living standards, to education, to adequate legal assistance, etc. The project provides for training courses for specialists working in the judicial system, like probation counselors, lawyers, prison guards, judges, and prosecutors. According to statistics, the share of crimes and misdemeanors committed by minors ranges annually from 7 to 10 per cent of the total number, with an increasing trend of crimes committed by girls. Two percent of crimes committed by minors are felonies. The most common crimes are larceny and robbery. At the same time, the number of crimes against children amount to more than 400 each year.