FTI publishes report on consular assistance for criminal defendants
Our work at Fair Trials International, defending the rights of people facing charges abroad, leaves us in no doubt that consular assistance is a vital public service. For those outside their own country, detained hundreds of miles from home, unable to speak the local language, ignorant of the local legal system and with no idea of who to turn to for help, consular assistance provides a lifeline.
This important public service has, however, been subject to almost no detailed examination. With the publication of its report, Fair Trials International has begun the process of filling this gap in knowledge and understanding. With funding from the Nuffield Foundation, we have compared the policies and practices of American, Australian, British, Dutch and German Ministries of Foreign Affairs in consular assistance and trial attendance. We have also looked at how Ministry officials and defence lawyers perceive the advantages and disadvantages of consular attendance at trial, including the relationship between trial attendance and the observance of fair trial rights.
The Executive summary (in English, German and Dutch) as well as a copy of the full report (in English) is available below.
