Cross-border legal rights sought for suspects

A group representing 700,000 defence lawyers in Europe is urging the EU to pass legislation which will guarantee suspects a minimum set of rights, such as right to a lawyer, legal aid and translation.

The move comes as the German presidency gears up for a battle in the Council of Ministers over the proposal, which was first introduced by the European Commission in 2004.

According to the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) a minimum set of rights is vital given the laws recently adopted by the EU which make it easier and quicker to transfer suspects and evidence between member states. The group has written to Brigitte Zypries, the German justice minister, asking her to make the issue a priority. "Once you can exchange information, files and people you should also be able to exchange rights," said Peter Baauw, a Dutch lawyer and co-chairman of the CCBE.

The addition of new member states to the EU meant a certain standard of rights needed to be established - more crucial since the accession of Romania and Bulgaria - he added. "They are not the elaborate systems we are used to, they don’t spend the type of money we do," said Baauw.

The European Arrest Warrant, adopted in 2001, allowed states to transfer suspects across borders easily, with defence lawyers unable to check on the standards their client would face. "There is no guarantee whatsoever that there is a lawyer waiting for them, if he has to pay for it, there is no guarantee for an interpreter, he doesn’t know what his rights over there are," said Baauw.

But some member states, in particular the UK and Ireland, are strongly resisting the proposal for a binding set of rules establishing standards for suspects. They say the EU has no legal jurisdiction to introduce such standards and that in any case the European Convention on Human Rights sets down such standards.

But the CCBE says the European Court of Human Rights, which enforces the convention, has a backlog of cases and it takes years before a case concludes. It is therefore not an effective remedy when suspects are facing immediate problems, according to the CCBE .

Along with a minimum set of rights, the group would also like to see an ombudsman set up to whom lawyers could turn if such problems arose. "It could take up the issue and speak up [on behalf of suspects]," said Franz Salditt, a German lawyer and co-chairman of the CCBE.

A group representing 700,000 defence lawyers in Europe is urging the EU to pass legislation which will guarantee suspects a minimum set of rights, such as right to a lawyer, legal aid and translation.