Nieuwe EU-richtlijnen in voorbereiding voor bescherming rechten van verdachten (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission has adopted plans for EU-wide safeguards for defendants in criminal proceedings, aimed at providing them rights such as legal aid, interpretation and translation, and consular assistance.

Under the rules proposed today, any person suspected of having committed a crime would have access to legal advice, both before and at the trail - particularly in cases where the person is not able to follow the proceedings for medical or physical reasons.

The proposal also says that having an interpreter has to be an automatic right for a suspected person who cannot understand or speak the language used in court.

Miranda Rights

A new element in the Commission's plans is the "letter of rights", where a standard written statement of basic rights must be given to all suspects before they are questioned - the equivalent of the US' Miranda rights.

However, it is more complicated in the EU because the rights will have to be presented in a language that the suspect can understand.

The European Commission also said that a detained person should also have the right to inform family members or the employer of the detention.

"This proposed directive is inspired by the need to guarantee for all European citizens common minimum rights in judicial proceedings", Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Antonio Vitorino said.

"The European area of freedom, security and justice that we are creating can only be consolidated if our legislative action achieves the correct balance between the search for security and the guarantee of fundamental freedoms".

Watered down

The proposals have been long in the pipeline following strong reservations by several member states - including Ireland, France, Austria and Spain.

As a result, it has also been much watered down.

"The consultation process took much longer than we thought", a European Commission official said, adding that the current proposal is "less ambitious" than what the Commission had anticipated.

The delay in the getting the draft legislation off the ground has been critiscised by human rights groups who argued that the EU failed to protect individuals who may be subject to the European Arrest Warrant.

The warrant will enable prisoners to be handed over by the authorities of one EU state to another within a period of only 60 to 90 days.

"For far too long, governments have insisted that the European law and order agenda be dominated by issues of security, and have paid too little attention to issues of freedom and justice", Liberal leader in the European Parliament Graham Watson said.

"The pendulum has swung too far in the direction of repressive measures. This long-awaited proposal gives them the opportunity to redress the balance".

The proposal has to be approved by member states.