A/HRC/29/26 102. Where they exist, informal justice systems should integrate and apply international human rights norms and standards concerning children in all their decision-making procedures. Child-sensitive adjudication 103. States should design, develop and strengthen justice systems that are sensitive to children’s needs, rights and well-being, and allow for their best interests to be the primary consideration. Child-sensitive justice should extend to all relevant judicial proceedings affecting the child. 104. In judicial proceedings, children should not only be granted all guarantees generally recognized in international human rights instruments, but also guarantees specific to their status as minors. 105. States should set a minimum age for the criminal responsibility of children that takes into account new scientific findings on the level of maturity and discernment of children; this minimum age should be as high as possible, but never lower than 12 years old. 106. Regardless of the circumstances of the crime, children should never be tried as adults. Their personal circumstances, including the fact that they are minors, should always be weighed up in all judicial proceedings. 107. States should adopt special measures and protection, including protection programmes, to facilitate children’s participation in criminal proceedings as victims and witnesses in a way that respects and protects their needs and rights. 108. When sentencing children to criminal sanctions, judges should consider the effect of their sentences on the child and balance this against the child’s best interests. Prosecutors should also make provision of the same considerations when requesting criminal sanctions in the cases under their purview. Children’s deprivation of liberty should always be a measure of last resort and for the shortest possible period of time. 109. When sentencing parents, in particular to the death penalty, judges should also consider the effect of their sentences on the well-being of the child and the child’s best interests. Prosecutors should apply the same consideration when requesting sanctions against parents. Alternatives to judicial proceedings 110. Alternatives to judicial proceedings, including measures based on the principle of restorative justice, should be available for children; such alternatives should always be considered first. 111. States should establish guidelines and standards to govern the possibilities of diverting children away from the criminal justice system and of using restorative justice programmes, thereby preventing arbitrariness. Each case should nevertheless be considered individually and in the light of the specific circumstances of the case and the child. Education, training and capacity-building for judges, prosecutors and lawyers 112. Institutional training on children’s rights—including relevant national, regional and international human rights law and jurisprudence—should be established and made compulsory for judges, prosecutors and lawyers, so as to ensure a child-friendly justice system. 113. International human rights law, in particular regarding children’s rights, should be included in the curricula of all law faculties and law schools, and in the 20