The International Convention on the Rights of the Child and the courts: a matter of time, attention and courage

What to expect

The Miek de Langen Lecture 2026 is given by Mariska Baaij, a judge at The Hague District Court.

She speaks about the need to better protect children's rights in court cases, for example about out-of-home placements and access to basic provisions such as drinking water.

The fourth CCRA study on the application of the Convention in Dutch courts shows the treaty gaining ground more than 30 years after it came into force, in family and youth law and beyond.

She mentions the ruling of the Court of Appeal in The Hague in the water case and the recent answers to preliminary questions from the Supreme Court in a rent case.

Much work remains: in several areas of law the Convention is still largely unexplored and more attention is needed for the role and rights of children in proceedings.

This annual lecture is dedicated to Miek de Langen, professor of youth law at the University of Amsterdam (1976-1992) and founder of the Kinderrechtswinkel (1985).

• Better protection of children's rights in court
• Convention gaining ground in Dutch case law
• Attention for children's role in proceedings
• Still largely unexplored in some areas