Going to Court? Help for children and families
What to do if you have to go to court
When we asked children and their families who have been through a youth court experience for their views, they told us that they needed more help to understand what was going on through the process.
The following video has been created to help you understand the stages of a court process, and to provide advice on what to expect before, during and after a youth court appearance. We hope the information will help to make the experience a little easier to understand and get through.
What does a Youth Court look like?
If you have never been inside a Youth Court before, or if you have only seen courts on tv or in films, you may not know what to expect. Youth Courts are more child-friendly than a normal adult court; they are often laid out in a more informal way, and the judge and legal professionals do not wear wigs and robes.
Each Youth Court in Northern Ireland have differences and similarities, depending on the type and age of the building, the layout of the room, whether they are used for other types of court and so on. We have created interactive 360 degree models of the five most commonly-used Youth Courts to let you take a ‘virtual tour’ of each and see the layout, who sits where etc.
Even if you are not attending one of the five courts shown above, they should help to give you an idea of what to expect if you are going to court. Other models of Magistrates’ Courts and Crown Courts can be found at:
You can also find more information in the following guides, which have been produced by the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service: