seek as much access as possible by the minor to the examination of his or her own case226. Likewise, the Court considers that children should be informed of their right to be heard directly, or through a representative, if they so wish. In this regard, where a conflict of interests arises between the mother and the father, the State must guarantee, as far as possible, that the child’s interests are represented by someone outside said conflict. 200. In this regard, the Committee on the Rights of the Child has emphasized that Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child not only establishes the right of each child to express his views in all matters affecting him, but also includes the subsequent right to have these views taken into consideration, according to the child’s age and maturity227. It is not sufficient to listen to the child; the child’s views must be seriously considered when he or she is capable of forming his or her own opinion, and for this reason the views of the child must be assessed on a case-by-case basis228. If the child is capable of forming his or her own views in a reasonable and independent manner, the decision maker must consider the child’s views as a significant factor in the settlement of the issue229. Therefore, in the context of judicial decisions on custody, all legislation on separation and divorce must protect the child’s right to be heard by those responsible for making decisions230. 201. In the instant case, the Court notes that on April 8, 2003 the Juvenile Court of Villarrica heard M., V., and R., in a private hearing and that “records of the private hearing were kept in a closed envelope in the Court’s merits box”231. In addition, the ruling on the provisional custody petition by the Juvenile Court of Villarrica on May 2, 2003, stated “[t]hat, as recorded in the main custody file, the girls were heard at a private hearing” 232. 202. For its part, the judgment of the lower court indicated “[i]t is proven in the records kept in the court’s safe that the minors were heard by this [Court]. In this hearing it was confirmed that the three minors wish for their parents to get back together, and in the last of the hearings held on October 8, 2003, [R.] and [V.] expressed their desire to go back to living with their mother, and in the case of [M.] the court only detected a slight preference for the mother figure”233. Furthermore, the Court clarified that “the hearings ordered to listen to the girls had the exclusive purpose of complying with the mandate of […] Article 12 of the Convention of the Rights of the Child and are simply an element to be considered, but they do not determine the decision […], by reason of their young age [the girls] are not in a position to issue a legally valid opinion regarding their situation and considering also that the opinion of the minors can be “affected artificially by outside factors that influence them, distort them, or make them unsuited to the proposed goal”234. Finally, the Juvenile Court 226 Advisory Opinion OC-17/02, supra note 122, para. 102 227 Cf. Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 12, supra note 218, para. 15. 228 Cf. Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 12, supra note 218, paras. 28 y 29. 229 Cf. Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 12, supra note 218, para. 44. 230 Cf. Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 12, supra note 218, paras. 28 y 29. 231 Records of the Juvenile Court of Villarrica of April 8, 2003 (record of appendices to the petition, volume I, page 350). 232 Decision on the provisional custody petition by the Juvenile Court of Villarrica, May 2, 2003, considering paragraph No 7. (record of appendices to the petition, volume V, page 2565). 233 Cf. Judgment of the Juvenile Court of Villarrica of October 29, 2003, considering clause No. 36 (record of appendices to the petition, volume V, page 2605). 234 Cf. Judgment of the Juvenile Court of Villarrica of October 29, 2003, considering clause No. 36 (record of appendices to the petition, volume V, page 2605). 63