Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

Five EU countries oppose new rights on access to lawyers

  • Access to a lawyer during the entire arrest procedure is seen as too expensive by some EU countries (Photo: banspy)

Belgium, France, the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands are opposing a European Commission proposal to extend the right to a lawyer for the entire period a suspect is held in police custody, citing rising costs and concerns that criminal procedures may be compromised.

In a joint letter sent ahead of a meeting of justice ministers on Friday (23 September) the five countries claim the proposal would create "substantial difficulties" for investigations, which could be slowed down by having to wait for a lawyer before fingerprints can be taken.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Extra costs are also a concern. "It is not possible to legislate to enhance and strengthen the rights of defendants - either at EU or domestic level - without also factoring in the resources and functioning of the criminal justice system," the letter reads.

But according to commission spokesman Matthew Newman, ensuring access to a lawyer during the entire arrest "is a key measure to build confidence and mutual trust."

"Citizens must know that wherever they go in the EU, they can be confident that minimum procedural rights will be guaranteed," he told this website.

He said the proposal would rather reduce costs incurred by appeals to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg by an estimated €11 million for all member states over 10 years.

The commission's proposals were tabled in June in a bid to streamline defendants' rights across the EU, after a series of abuses connected to the European arrest warrant - a scheme allowing member states to extradite criminal suspects to other EU countries.

Fair Trials International, a UK-based charity campaigning for suspects' rights when arrested abroad, has documented several cases where the European arrest warrant has not allowed people to defend themselves or even be informed properly about the cause of their detention.

Garry Mann, a British citizen arrested and convicted to two years in prison in Portugal for allegedly taking part in a riot "had only five minutes with his lawyer before the trial and did not know what he was charged with until after he was sentenced."

A British court dismissed the trial as "so unfair as to be incompatible with the respondents’ right to a fair trial." He still had to serve one year in a Portuguese prison before being transferred to the UK to serve the rest of his sentence.

In another case, Mark Marku, an Albanian national with Irish residency was arrested in Crete in September 2010 and accused of being part of a criminal gang carrying out armed robberies.

Marku claims he is innocent and was denied access to a lawyer for over two days, during which he was subjected to severe physical abuse from the authorities to make him sign documents in Greek, which he could not read.

Brussels to beef up EU criminal policy

The European Commission on Tuesday said it is considering how to set up an EU criminal policy, with clear definitions on what is an EU crime and the minimum punishment to be applied across all member states. Financial market abuse is seen as strong contender for EU sanctions.

EU Parliament set to sue EU Commission over Hungary funds

The European Parliament will likely take the European Commission to court for unblocking more than €10bn in funds for Hungary last December. A final nod of approval is still needed by European Parliament president, Roberta Metsola.

EU Commission clears Poland's access to up to €137bn EU funds

The European Commission has legally paved the way for Poland to access up to €137bn EU funds, following Donald Tusk's government's efforts to strengthen the independence of their judiciary and restore the rule of law in the country.

Opinion

Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers

The UN could launch an independent international investigation into Navalny's killing, akin to investigation I conducted on Jamal Khashoggi's assassination, or on Navalny's Novichok poisoning, in my role as special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, writes the secretary-general of Amnesty International.

Opinion

I'll be honest — Moldova's judicial system isn't fit for EU

To state a plain truth: at present, Moldova does not have a justice system worthy of a EU member state; it is riven with corruption and lax and inconsistent standards, despite previous attempts at reform, writes Moldova's former justice minister.

Latest News

  1. Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access
  2. Europol: Israel-Gaza galvanising Jihadist recruitment in Europe
  3. EU to agree Israeli-settler blacklist, Borrell says
  4. EU ministers keen to use Russian profits for Ukraine ammo
  5. Call to change EIB defence spending rules hits scepticism
  6. Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers
  7. EU summit, Gaza, Ukraine, reforms in focus this WEEK
  8. The present and future dystopia of political micro-targeting ads

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us