Brussels, 08/10/2009 (Agence Europe) - People charged in cross-border criminal cases must have the right to appeal, to have some say in where they are tried and to use translation services, Parliament said on Thursday 8 October. MEPs amended an EU Council proposal seeking to ensure that people are not tried twice for the same crime in two different member states (see EUROPE 9938). The Council text proposes direct consultations and exchange of information between member states' judiciaries in order to keep the proceedings in one member state. In adopting the report by Renate Weber (ALDE, Romania) by 544 votes to 84, with 17 abstentions, MEPs added a number of amendments to strengthen procedural rights. The person formally charged should have a right to appeal, make representations as to the jurisdiction that should try their case and receive translation, interpretation and legal aid. MEPs also inserted a ban on sharing information on racial or ethnic origin, religion, belief or sexual orientation. The judicial co-operation agency Eurojust should also be more extensively involved, said MEPs. Although the Council proposal cites co-operation and consensus as the guiding principles for avoiding conflicts, the rapporteur “regrets that the proposal does not provide for a mechanism to really solve conflicts of competence nor for appropriate criteria to establish which member states should have the jurisdiction”. During the debate, held the previous day, the European Commission announced that it would be drafting new legislation to improve the proposed system. If the Lisbon treaty is ratified, the European Parliament will have an equal say with the Council on this legislation. Elsewhere, the Council of the EU is currently drafting a road map on procedural guarantees in criminal matters (discussed at the JHA Council on 23 October). This provides for a “Letter of rights” for accused persons, through the adoption at a future time of a Green Paper on pre-trial detention, and decisions on the accused having their rights notified in writing, procedural guarantees for persons who are unable to understand or follow the procedure, the right of persons under detention to communicate with their families, the right of persons detained abroad to consular assistance, access to a lawyer as early as possible in and throughout the criminal procedure. (B.C./transl.rt)
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