EC to guarantee suspects’ rights to speak with lawyer, inform family of arrest

EU Commission Vice-President and Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding stressed on how "following an arrest, citizens must be guaranteed that they can see a lawyer no matter where they are in the European Union. If they are in custody outside their home country, they should have support from their consulate or embassy. Today’s measure will strengthen mutual trust between our justice systems by ensuring that suspects are treated with the same, minimum fair standards across the European Union."

The Commission’s proposal vindicates the stand taken by Nationalist MP Franco Debono who hailed the news from Brussels.

“I feel extremely satisfied at hearing such news, as it vindicates my position with government over this issue,” Debono told MaltaToday, adding that his insistence with government to enact the law which was passed in 2002 served as a “wake-up call” that this is a matter of fundamental human rights which had to be respected by the State.

Under a European Commission measure proposed today, all suspects – no matter where they are in the European Union – would be guaranteed the right to speak with a lawyer from the moment they are held by police until the conclusion ofproceedings. Suspects could also talk to a family member or an employer and inform them of their arrest. If they are outside of their country, they would have the right to contact their country’s consulate.

"Fair trial rights are essential for citizens' confidence in the justice system,"said Vice-President Viviane Reding, the EU’s Justice Commissioner.Access to a lawyer rights are essential for building confidence in the European Union’s single area of justice, especially when suspects are arrested as a result of a European Arrest Warrant.

Today’s proposed right of access to a lawyer is the third Directive in a series of proposals to guarantee minimum rights to a fair trial anywhere in the European Union. The others are the right to translation 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.

There are over eightmillion criminal proceedings in the European Union every year. The right of 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. Evidence obtained without the presence of a lawyer has a different status from one country to another. And people sought under a European Arrest Warrant may not currently have access to 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 or employer 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 Commission's proposal would 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 interrogations and to check detention conditions;

Making sure that the suspect is able to communicate with at least one family member or employer  informing them of  the arrest and custody;

Allowing suspects abroad to contact their country's embassy or 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.

EU Justice Ministers approved the first measure, which gave suspects the right to translation and interpretation, in October 2010. The Commission proposed the second measure – the Letter of Rights – in July 2010. EU governments have endorsed the measure in December 2010 which is currently being negotiated with the European Parliament that  must give its final approval before it becomes law.