Brussels, 08/04/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 8 April, the MEPs of the committee on civil liberties (Libe) of the European Parliament gave their approval to plans to introduce new measures to guarantee the European citizens access to translation and interpreting into their own language during criminal proceedings. Talks will now start with the Council of the EU, with the objective of reaching a compromise by the summer. The draft directive, on which the report by Sarah Ludford (ALDE, UK) is based, was presented in December 2009 by 13 member states and constitutes the first stage in a raft of measures aiming to lay down common EU standards in criminal proceedings. The draft directive aims to establish common minimum standards on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings throughout the EU. It will help to improve the rights of suspects who neither speak nor understand the language of the proceedings.
According to the committee on civil liberties, a suspect must have access to interpreting and translation throughout all stages of the criminal proceedings, from the moment he or she is arrested or questioned until all appeals have been exhausted. The assistance provided should cover communication between the suspect and his or her lawyer, and essential documents, such as the arrest warrant. The assistance must be of a sufficient level of quality to ensure that the suspect is capable of understanding what he or she is charged with and the exercise of his or her rights. It should also cover detention rules, including requests for information, making complaints and official contact between the holding authorities and the suspect, the MEPs believe. Appropriate assistance should also be given to people suffering from a physical or learning disability affecting their ability to communicate effectively, such as hearing or speech. When a suspect is interviewed by the police or public prosecutors through the medium of an interpreter, or when any rights are given up, an audio and video recording should be made and provided to the parties in the event of a dispute, the MEPs state. If the personal presence of an interpreter is not possible, such as in an emergency situation or one involving a very rare language or dialect, technologies using video, telephone or Internet can be used "as a last resort", the MEPs state. However, this option should not be used for proceedings before a court. In order to guarantee a high level of interpreting and translation, the MEPs would like the member states to set up a system of training, qualification and accreditation for legal translators and interpreters. They therefore recommend the creation of a national register of independent professional translators and interpreters who could be available, on a cross-border basis, to the competent lawyers and authorities. The member states must also make sure that training is provided to judges, public prosecutors, lawyers, police officers and the competent court personnel, to allow them to assess the linguistic needs of a suspect, satisfy themselves as to his or her ability to understand the proceedings, and to assess the quality of the interpreting and translation. The translation and interpreting costs will be covered by the member state and not the suspect. The draft directive will also apply to the European arrest warrants. On 9 March, the European Commission decided to table a proposed directive on the same subject. However, the report by Sarah Ludford, which takes up the majority of the improvements contained within the Commission's proposal, is based on the initiative of the member states (EUROPE 10101).
Further to the adoption of Ludford's report, the European commissioner for justice, citizenship and the fundamental rights, Viviane Reding, said that she was very pleased that the European Parliament shares the Commission's objective of ensuring a high level of rights to a fair trial. "It is important that we resist the temptation to settle for a less-than-comprehensive proposal that would risk not fully complying with the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights", she said, referring to the proposal of the member states. The commissioner went on to congratulate Ludford and the committee on civil liberties on their sterling work to ensure that rights to translation and interpreting in criminal trials are protected throughout the EU. Lastly, she said that she was very pleased that the UK and Ireland had got behind the initiative. (B.C./trans.fl)