Fair trial rights all over Europe

You have the right to remain silent.

You have the right to consult a lawyer.

Does this sound familiar to you? Probably, since you have heard it countless times in blockbuster movies and on TV. Well, whether home or abroad, these sentences will soon have the same meaning across the EU.

Fair trial rights all over Europe

The European Union has paved the way to fair trial rights for people everywhere, so that, whether you are at home or abroad, you will enjoy the same rights. The right to a fair trial and defence are set out in Articles 47 and 48 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; as well as in Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The right to communicate with a third party is one of the important safeguards against ill treatment, prohibited by Article 3 of the ECHR. The new rules will ensure that individuals have the opportunity to:

• be advised by a lawyer;
• be in contact with their country’s consulate;
• communicate with their family.

A single European area of justice

Access to a lawyer is essential for building confidence in the European Union’s single area of justice. The proposed right of access to a lawyer is the third Directive in a series of legislative proposals to guarantee minimum rights to a fair trial anywhere in the European Union. The others are the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings and the right to information in criminal proceedings. These measures aim to establish clear rights across the EU and safeguard people's fundamental rights to a fair trial and the right of defence. The proposals need approval by the European Parliament and Council of Ministers before becoming law.

EPP Group Rapporteur Elena Oana Antonescu MEP, representing one of the two EU co-legislators, the European Parliament, said that this is a great success.

Conditions for suspects in different Member States must be aligned

There are over 8 million criminal proceedings in the European Union every year. The right to defence for anyone suspected of a crime is widely recognised as a basic element of a fair trial. But the conditions under which suspects can consult a lawyer differ between Member States. For example, the person accused of a crime may not be able to see a lawyer during police questioning. The confidentiality of their contact with their lawyer might not be respected. And people sought under a European Arrest Warrant may not currently have the benefit of a lawyer in the country where the warrant has been issued until they are surrendered to that country.

There are similar divergences in terms of the right of suspects to let a relative, employer and their consulate know when they have been arrested. Individuals may not systematically be offered this right, may only receive it at a late stage in the process, or may not be informed once their family has been contacted.

The new Directive is listed as one of the key actions to improve citizens’ lives in the Commission’s 2010 EU Citizenship Report.

Key elements of the proposed Directive to improve suspects' rights

The Directive will guarantee these rights in practice, by:

• providing access to a lawyer from the first stage of police questioning and throughout criminal proceedings;
• allowing adequate, confidential meetings with the lawyer for the suspect to effectively exercise their defence rights;
• allowing the lawyer to play an active role during questioning;
• making sure that, where a suspect is arrested, somebody such as a family member is made aware of that arrest and that there is an opportunity for the suspect to communicate with their family;
• allowing suspects abroad to be in contact with their country's consulate and receive visits;
• offering people subject to a European Arrest Warrant the possibility of legal advice in both the country where the arrest is carried out and the one where it was issued.

Next steps

The text will now be up for formal adoption by the co-legislators (Parliament and Council) in the coming months. Discussions are scheduled at the meeting of EU Justice Ministers.

This week, Antonescu's draft report on the proposal for a directive on the right of access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings and on the right to communicate upon arrest will be submitted to vote in the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. A vote in plenary is scheduled for Parliament's plenary session in September.