Brussels pushes to enforce EU ‘Miranda Rights’

The European Commission proposed new rules on the 20 July 2010 to ensure that EU countries will inform anyone suspected or accused of a criminal offence of their rights in a language they understand.

Anyone arrested – or the subject of a European Arrest Warrant – will have to be informed in writing with a Letter of Rights listing their basic rights during criminal proceedings.

While EU countries are free to choose the exact wording of the Letter, the Commission proposal provides a model in 22 EU languages. This will provide consistency for people crossing borders and limit translation costs.

The proposal is essential for boosting confidence in the EU’s area of justice, especially as more Europeans travel: 47% of Germans, 34% of UK and 16% of Italians citizens take their holidays in other EU countries. To become law, the Commission proposal needs to be approved by the European Parliament and EU Ministers of Justice.

European Commission: Press Release: IP/10/989: Commission promotes the right to information in criminal proceedings http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/10/989&format=PDF&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

European Commission: COM (2010)392: Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the right to information in criminal proceedings http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/news/intro/doc/com_2010_392_3_en.pdf

EUR-Lex: COM(2010)392: Follow the progress of this document through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2010:392:FIN

Wikipedia: Miranda warning http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miranda_warning

US Constitution: Miranda Warning http://www.usconstitution.net/miranda.html

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