Press Release: EU-wide right to information at arrest is now law

A new law to ensure defendants' right to information during criminal proceedings throughout the European Union has been published in the Official Journal – the EU's statute book. The 'Directive on the right to information in criminal proceedings' was proposed by the European Commission in July 2010, voted by the European Parliament on 13 December 2011 and agreed by national justice ministers on 27 April 2012.

This law ensures that anyone arrested or subject to a European Arrest Warrant in any EU Member State is given a Letter of Rights listing their basic rights during criminal proceedings. EU Member States now have two years to introduce the new rules in their national legal systems. Currently the right to a Letter of Rights is only available in around one third of Member States.