EU Defence Rights

Too often, we are contacted by people facing trials who have no idea of their rights, no comprehension of the local system and no legal aid to help them pay for a lawyer or interpreter. The fundamental right to a fair trial is enshrined in EU law but it does not receive the same level of protection in every European country.

At the end of 2009 the European Union adopted a defence rights “Roadmap”, paving the way for fair trial rights to be better protected throughout Europe. We will continue to campaign to ensure that the EU takes action to ensure that basic fair trial rights are respected everywhere in Europe.

A third of the people who contacted Fair Trials International in 2010 reported that they were denied access to an interpreter or translation of key documents. We have long campaigned for EU guarantees of this fundamental right, without which a fair trial is impossible. This work paid off. In October 2010, a new law was passed to ensure anyone facing charges in an EU country is given access to interpretation and translation.
 

Related Pages

• EU TAKES FURTHER STEP TO PROTECT FAIR TRIAL RIGHTS Committee of European Council approves new law to ensure everyone arrested in any EU country gets key information about basic legal rights and the charges against them.
• FTI BRIEFING ON ACCESS TO LEGAL ADVICE FTI briefing in response to a proposed EU law guaranteeing access to a lawyer
• CRUCIAL REFORMS PROPOSED TO THE EUROPEAN REGIME Fair Trials International's response to the Government’s review of extradition, highlights the human and financial costs of the EAW and proposes concrete reforms
• Submission to the Criminal Justice Unit, European Commission on rights and charges information The need for a binding EU legislative measure protecting suspects' rights to receive information about their rights and charge
• BLIND FAITH IS NOT ENOUGH Fair Trials International writes about the mutual recognition of European legal systems