Law 47/2017: Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Region of Veneto Ombudsperson for the Rights of the Person and the President of the Juvenile Court of Venice

The Region of Veneto Ombudsperson for the Rights of the Person, Dr. Mirella Gallinaro, and the President of the Juvenile Court of Venice, Dr. Maria Teresa Rossi, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in order to promote and aid the apointment of voluntary tutors for unaccompanied foreign minors.

The Memorandum will fulfil the obligation forseen by law n. 47 of 7th April 2017, which contains the "norms for the protection measures of unaccompanied foreign minors". They aim to guarentee the protection of unaccompanied foreign children, defining the work and activities of each part referring to finding and training voluntary citizens available to take on the role of a tutor for those children, and the creation of a list of these trained individuals, which will be established at the Juvenile Court.

In the Memorandum, the two parties supported the nomination and selection of the tutors with systems that have already been tested over the years by the Regional Ombudsperson Office. Therefore, it will be up to the Ombudsperson to identify citizens willing to carry out the role of Voluntary Tutor for Unaccompanied Foreign Minors, organizing training sessions and consequently sharing the list of those citizens who have been deemed fit to take up the role with the Juvenile Court. It is also the Ombudsperson's role to assure that the tutors remain updated, consulted and supported throughout their time in the role.

The Juvenile Court has the job of identifying the most efficent way of making the list of trained and approved citizens available to any judge supervising cases concerning guardianship.