Early Access to Legal Assistance
| DOI | 10.1177/203228441200300208 |
| Published date | 01 June 2012 |
| Author | Marion Isobel |
| Date | 01 June 2012 |
| Subject Matter | Update |
New Journal of Eu ropean Crimina l Law, Vol.3, Issue 2, 2012 185
UPDATES
EARLY ACCESS TO LEGAL ASSISTANCE
Template Brief Issue #1:
Legal Brief prepared by Open Society Justice
Initiative to assist legal practitioners to litigate
issues of early access to legal assistance for people
accused or suspected of crimes
M I*
HOW TO USE THIS TEMPLATE BRIEF
1. In most European countries, criminal suspects do not enjoy full and unrestricted
access to legal assistance during the initial stages of a cri minal invest igation. In
some countries, there are clea r legislative limitat ions on the timing of access,
duration of the consultation wit h the lawyer and the act ivities that a law yer can
undertake. Equally concerning are those countries where suspect s technically
have a right to legal assista nce, but it is not implemented in practice .
2. Despite these limitations, there have been signi cant development s throug hout
Europe in recent years towards cle ar international standards protect ing the rights
of suspects and accused persons in crimina l proceedings. e Justice Initiative is
supporting these de velopments through advoc acy, networki ng and lobbying, and
through the public ation of a series of template briefs providing technica l assistance
to lawyers conducting lit igation on arrest rights in domestic court s.
3. is brief provides the current regional and international lega l standards on the
right of early access to lega l assistance to people accused or suspected of cri mes. It
presents the legal standa rds from the European Convention on Human Rig hts and
the case law of the Europea n Court of Human Rights, supporte d by principles and
standards from the International Covenant on Civil and Politic al Rights, the UN
Human Rights Comm ittee, and other European and UN bo dies.
4. e Justice Init iative encourages lawyers to use the resea rch and arguments in this
brief to support domestic litigation. Litigation can be an e ect ive tool to modify a
national criminal justice system that fa ils to adequately provide for the full and
* Associate Lega l O cer, Open Socie ty Justice Initiat ive.
Marion Isobel
186 Intersentia
unrestricted right to legal assista nce. e Justice Initiative is monitoring
developments in countries that have successf ully reformed their laws on early
access to legal assist ance, including through litigation. If you are planning or are
engaged in a case with t his aim, please contact u s. We may be able to provide
information on reforms which have already been implemented in similar lega l
systems which could support you r case, or connect you wit h other lawyers or
organizations who have successf ully litigated this issue.
5. e Justice Initiative has gone to every e ort to ensure our i nformation is accurate.
However, this brief is provided for information purposes only a nd does not
constitute legal advice. e way you use this brief will depend on the details of
yo u r c a s e , y o u r c l i en t ’s si t u at i o n, a n d s p e ci c it i e s o f yo u r do m es t i c l e g a l f r a m ew o rk .
6. If you have any questions or feedback about the brief, would like a translated
version of the brief in another lang uage, or would like to keep the Justice Initiat ive
informed about cases in your country that deal with access to legal assistance,
please contact :
Marion Isobel
Associate Legal O cer
National Criminal Justice Reform
Open Society Justice I nitiative
misobel@osieurope.org
Tel: +36 1 882 3154
www.justiceinitiative.org
www.lega laidrefor m.org
1. THE RIGHT OF EARLY ACCESS TO LEGAL ASSISTANCE
1. Suspects in crim inal proceedings have the right to access legal assistance, at the
latest, when they are arrested, placed in custody, or their position is sign i cantly
a ected by the circumsta nces they nd themselves in. is is established in a clear
and consistent line of jurisprudence from t he European Court of Human Rights
(“ECtHR”) which speci es that this right includes having legal assistance during
any interrogations or questioning by the pol ice. It has also been a rmed by the
UN Human Rights Committee, and other European and UN standards and
mechanisms have emphasized t he fundamental importa nce of early access to legal
assistance.
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