The EU is taking the first step towards setting common standards in criminal cases, writes CAROL COULTER
THE EUROPEAN Commission has proposed minimum standards for interpretation and translation for suspects standing trial in a country where the language is not their own. The proposed legislation is designed to help people to get a fair trial anywhere in the EU, even when they cannot understand the language of the case.
The need for standardised procedural rights and the barriers which can lead to unfair convictions during judicial proceedings in other EU countries have been highlighted by a number of real-life cases. These include an Italian tourist involved in a traffic accident in Sweden who was not allowed to talk to an Italian-speaking lawyer during trial, and a Polish suspect who could not see written translations of evidence used against him in a French court.
The proposed new Directive replaces a Framework Decision on interpretation and translation rights in July 2009, which became void upon the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty on December 1st, 2009.
On November 30th, 2009, EU governments asked the commission to put forward proposals on a “step-by-step” basis to establish EU-wide standards for a series of procedural rights. The commission is thus turning the proposed Framework Decision into a Directive.
This proposal is the first step in a series of measures to set common EU standards in criminal cases. The Lisbon Treaty enables the EU to adopt measures to strengthen the rights of EU citizens, in line with the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Common standards in relation to these rights would result in a better application of the principle of mutual recognition, thereby improving the functioning of judicial co-operation in criminal matters between EU member states, according to a statement from the commission.
The proposal strengthens citizens’ rights to interpretation and translation in three ways: interpretation would have to be provided for communication with lawyers as well as during investigations – such as police questioning – and at trial; the proposal covers written translation of all essential documents such as the detention order, the charge sheet or indictment, or vital pieces of evidence; citizens must have the right to legal advice before waiving the right to interpretation and translation; translation and interpretation costs will have to be met by the member state, not by the suspect – irrespective of the final decision.
“We are taking a first important step towards a Europe where justice knows no borders. Nobody in the EU should ever feel that their rights and their protections are weakened simply because they are not in their home countries,” said vice-president Viviane Reding, the EU’s commissioner for justice, fundamental rights and citizenship.
“Without clear guarantees that all EU countries respect our citizens’ fundamental rights, how can we build trust between the authorities who should be working together to keep us safe? Justice and security go hand in hand. This is why I expect the European Parliament and the council to move quickly on this proposal to make sure that nothing prevents citizens from realising their right to a fair trial, as guaranteed by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights,” she said.
However, the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), the representative body for over one million European lawyers, warned that the measure must be compatible with the European Convention of Human Rights, pointing out it had advocated for a number of years a full set of common procedural guarantees for suspects, as a necessary complement to judicial co-operation in areas such as the European Arrest Warrant. Eleven thousand European Arrest Warrants were issued in 2007, up from 6,900 in 2005.
“The difficulties in the implementation of the European Arrest Warrant have shown that mutual recognition will not work if it is not based on mutual trust, and mutual trust cannot be taken for granted; it must built on common fundamental values,” said the CCBE president José-María Davó-Fernández.
The Directive on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings, proposed by the commission, will be the first Directive to strengthen criminal justice since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty.
Other areas where procedural rights will be improved over the next few years include information on rights and information about charges (due summer 2010); legal advice, before trial and at trial, and legal aid; the right for a detained person to communicate with family members, employers and consular authorities; and protection for vulnerable suspects.