Väliaikaisen edunvalvojan määrääminen esitutkinnassa
Abstract
Appointment of a temporary guardian during a criminal investigation
The article examines the appointment of a temporary guardian for a child during a criminal investigation when the child’s parent or their spouse is suspected of committing a sexual or violent offence against the child. To secure the investigation
and the child’s interrogation, the impartial guardian should be appointed for the child from the first interrogation onwards. This prevents the child’s parent from attempting to influence the child’s testimony. The Criminal Investigation
Act contains a provision on the disqualification of a custodian and obligates the authorities to provide an impartial guardian for the child. The guardian is appointed in accordance with the provisions of the Guardianship Service Act,
which allows, in exceptional circumstances, for the appointment of a temporary guardian without consulting the custodian. However, there have been instances where the child’s guardian was not appointed, the guardian appointment
was delayed compared to the needs of the criminal investigation, or the child’s custodian was notified of the temporary appointment before the child was first questioned. We consider impartial guardianship to be a right of the child and
believe that limiting the biased custodians’ right to exercise the child’s right of action can ensure the child’s right to participate in the criminal process and secure the child’s right to a non-violent life. In European regulations, a child’s
right to an impartial representative is seen as part of protecting child victims during criminal proceedings. The unclear situation is due to the inconsistency between the provisions of the Criminal Investigation Act and the Guardianship
Service Act. Secondly, the preconditions for appointing a guardian under the Criminal Investigation Act are not specific enough, and the law does not specify the urgency of the matter. We propose a legislative amendment that would give
the head investigator the right to appoint a temporary guardian for the child. We conclude that to protect the best interests of the child and to advance the investigation of the offence, it should be possible to appoint a temporary guardian for the child during the criminal investigation without hearing the custodian when the custodian or their spouse is suspected of having committed a sexual or violent offence against a child.
