Brussels, 20/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 19 June, MEPs on the European Parliament civil liberties committee approved the inter-institutional agreement of 28 May last on suspects or accused persons' access to a lawyer before the start of any questioning by the police and throughout criminal proceedings. The report by Elena Oana Antonescu (EPP, Romania) was adopted by large majority (49 votes to 2, with no abstentions).
The draft directive will still need to be formally adopted by the Council and the Parliament. It sets out EU-wide minimum rules on the right of access to a lawyer for suspects and accused persons and on the right of people in detention to communicate with a person of their choice, such as a relative, employer or consular official.
Suspects or accused persons would have a right of access to a lawyer before they are questioned by the police and without undue delay from the time they are taken into detention. This right must also apply throughout criminal proceedings. The new rules also allow lawyers to participate effectively during the questioning and attend certain investigative or evidence-gathering activities, such as identity parades and experimental reconstructions of the crime scene.
Member states must respect the confidentiality of meetings and other forms of communication between the suspect or accused person and his or her lawyer “without derogation” (exception). The new rules would ensure that when a person is arrested, he/she has the right to communicate with a person of his/her choice, such as a family member, partner or employer. If outside his/her home country, the arrested person would have the right to contact that country's local consulate.
Persons subject to a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) would have the right of access to a lawyer both in the executing and in the issuing member state. Currently, they may not have access to a lawyer in the country where the warrant has been issued until they are surrendered to that country.
The compromise text is expected to be passed in the plenary after the summer break and formally adopted by the Council shortly thereafter. Once adopted, member states will have three years to transpose the directive into national law. (SP/transl.fl)