16/11/2023 (Agence Europe) – The European Commission has initiated proceedings against Poland before the Court of Justice of the European Union for failure to transpose the 2013 directive on the right of access to a lawyer (see EUROPE 10871/13) and communication in the event of arrest. This directive should have been incorporated into Polish law by 27 November 2016. In view of the initial non-compliance, the Commission sent a letter of formal notice to Poland on 15 July 2021, highlighting the failure to transpose specific measures for minors. After analysing the Polish response, the Commission deemed the transposition unsatisfactory and issued a reasoned opinion in February 2023. As the Polish response to this opinion did not demonstrate full transposition, the Commission decided to refer the matter to the Court, requesting financial penalties against Poland for this failure. (NP)