Joint Briefing on the Directive on the Right of Access to a Lawyer in Criminal Proceedings and the Right to Inform a Third Party upon Deprivation of Liberty 15 April 2013
| Date | 01 September 2013 |
| DOI | 10.1177/203228441300400312 |
| Published date | 01 September 2013 |
| Subject Matter | Update |
332 Interse ntia
JOINT BRIEFING ON THE DIRECTIVE ON THE
RIGHT OF ACCESS TO A LAWYER IN
CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS AND THE RIGHT
TO INFORM A THIRD PARTY UPON
DEPRIVATION OF LIBERTY
15 APRIL 2013
Amnesty International, Europ ean Criminal Bar Association, Fair Trials International,
Irish Council for Civil Liber ties, JUSTICE and Open Society Justice Initiative
Aer eight months of intensive discussions, the two legislators, the European
Parliament (EP) and the Council of the European Union appear wil ling to conclude
the negotiation of a new Directive that will set common minimum standa rds on the
right of access to a lawyer and t he right to communicate with third part ies when
detained, for persons suspe cted or accused of a crime in the EU.
When the right of access to a law yer is denied, even temporarily, other core rights
of suspects and accused persons are endangered, important procedural safeguards
are weakened in practice and the fairness of the entire criminal process is brought
into question. In any event, no questioning should be allowed without access to a
law yer.
Our organisations – nationa l and international NGOs working on justice and
human rights, together with the European Criminal Ba r Association (ECBA) – have
advocated the need for a Directive to uphold and develop existing international
human rights sta ndards in this area and have act ively engaged in the discussions with
all the par ties since the publication of the Commission proposal i n June 2011.
Ahead of the next tr ilogue on 17April 2013, we welcome the positive developments
on a number of contentious points but wish to raise ve remai ning concerns that we
believe deserve specia l attention from the co-legislators at this critical juncture in
the negotiations, to ensure the Di rective does not undermine human rights
standards.
A primary aspect of the role of a lawyer is to protect the rig ht against self-
incrimination of the suspect and accused person. Whilst t he Directive will place
obligations upon the Member States to facilitate access to a lawyer, nothing in the
Directive should al low law enforcement authorities to prevent a suspect or accused
person from exercising his or her right of access to a lawyer. All provisions of the
Directive must meet thes e prerequisites, which the latest dras1 do not yet achie ve.
1 Text for 6th and 7th trilogues – 14March 2013 & 9Apri l 2013.
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