A significant two-day conference, entitled Interdisciplinary Approach to Disputes Involving Juveniles in Cases of Parental Alienation, was held at the Bucharest Tribunal in Romania on 27-28 June 2019.

The Bucharest Tribunal – the central court in the capital -  together with the APISET Association, organised for the first time in Romania an international congress devoted exclusively to the issues of children affected by parental alienation. It was also the first international congress organised by a public authority in the field and the biggest court in Romania that handles juvenile cases. The Tribunal, who understand the gravity of the phenomenon of parental alienation, are committed to providing knowledge and training around the issue of children’s post separation rejection of a parent.

The audience was made up of judges, prosecutors, lawyers, psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers and others working with families. In Romania prosecutors are treating as criminal offences cases of non-observance of measures concerning the custody of minors, harassment and ill-treatment of minors. Professional specialists from Romania and abroad met for two days to listen to a varied programme including presentations on understanding parental alienation from legal, cross boarder, forensic, psychological and therapeutic perspectives.

The main purpose of the conference, which was the initiative of EAPAP Board member, Simona Vlădică Ph.D., was forming the skills and abilities of magistrates judges and prosecutors through theoretical and practical training, in order to be able to identify cases of emotional abuse exercised by parents on minors and develop measures in order to analyse and to take the effective action to stop this serious form of abuse.

The conference heard from a number of specialists in the field both from within Romania and from abroad and aimed to produce a number of proposals to improve legislation in Romania.

Some key presentations included The need for interdisciplinary approach to litigation with juveniles in cases of parental alienation from Judge Laura Radu - President of the Bucharest Tribunal; Psychological expertise: a useful means of solving juvenile cases. The need for a separate regulation of psychological expertise as a means of proof in criminal proceedings from Prosecutor Dr. Laurenţiu Sorescu - Prosecutor's Office attached to Bucharest Court of Appeal; and Psychological assessment of the minor in a family context in civil and criminal proceedings: procedure and objectives. The importance of identifying the types of co - parenthood, parenting styles and attachment types in the resolution of disputes with minors from Dr. Gabriela Marc, D.G.A.S.P.C. Sector 5 Bucharest