Every year, millions of people across Europe - innocent and guilty - are arrested and detained by the police. For some, their cases go no further than the police station, but many others eventually appear before a court. Many will spend time in custody both before and following trial. Initial attempts by the European Union to establish minimum procedural rights for suspects and defendants failed in 2007, in the face of opposition by a number of Member States who argued that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rendered EU regulation unnecessary. However, with ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, criminal defense rights are again on the agenda. Based on a three year research study, this book explores and compares access to effective defense in criminal proceedings across nine European jurisdictions (Belgium, England/Wales, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, and Turkey) that constitute examples of the three major legal traditions in Europe: inquisitorial, adversarial, a

Effective Criminal Defence in Europe summarizes the findings of a three-year research project to explore and compare access to effective defense in criminal proceedings across nine European jurisdictions. Every year, millions of people across Europe--innocent and guilty--are arrested and detained by the police. For some, their cases go no further than the police station. Many others eventually appear before a court and spend time in custody both before and following trial. This research examines not only how defense rights are framed in domestic legislation, and whether standards set by the European Convention on Human Rights are met, but also how these rights are implemented in practice and whether structures and systems exist to enable individuals to effectively exercise these rights. For instance, domestic legislation may provide for the right to a lawyer immediately on arrest, but if there is no system by which a lawyer can be contacted on a 24 hour basis, then the arrested person may not be in position to exercise their right to counsel effectively. It also considers legal and professional cultures: the law may provide for a right to cross-examine witnesses or to call evidence, but without lawyers who actively use these rights on behalf of defendants, they will not be available in practice. The summary (available for download) presents suggestions for overall European standards as well as specific findings and recommendations for nine countries: Belgium, England and Wales, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, and Turkey. Individual country reports are also available online. The complete results of the research, analysis, and conclusions are published in a book: Effective Criminal Defence in Europe, by E. Cape, Z. Namoradze, R. Smith, and T. Spronken (Antwerpen-Oxford: Intersentia, 2010). This project has been a joint undertaking of Maastricht University, JUSTICE, the University of the West of England, and the Open Society Justice Initiative. It was funded by the European Community and the Open Society Institute.

This report explores and compares access to effective defence in criminal proceedings in Bulgaria, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova and Ukraine. It finds that people suspected or accused of crimes in the five countries are frequently unaware of their rights, and routinely prevented from mounting an effective defense. Similar results were produced by an earlier 2010 study that covered nine European countries. The two studies together have identified the right to legal representation and legal aid as a recurring weak point in many criminal justice systems in Europe, and make detailed suggestions for setting overall EU standards on these issues. The new study was based on a research project conducted under the framework of the Legal Aid Reformers' Network (LARN) with financial support from the Human Rights and Governance Grants Program of the Open Society Foundations and implemented by the Soros Foundation Moldova, in cooperation with Open Society Institute Sofia, Open Society Georgia Foundation, International Renaissance Foundation Ukraine, and the Open Society Justice Initiative.

The growing internationalization and Europeanization of criminal procedures has created new challenges to traditional defense rights. Hence, the Ghent Bar Association, the Bar Association of The Hague, and Ghent University have joined forces, exploring and addressing these challenges during an international conference held in Ghent in November 2012. This book examines the various topics presented at the conference. Whereas international criminal tribunals - especially the International Criminal Court (ICC) - should play an exemplary role when it comes to the right to fair trial and adequate access to a lawyer, reality proves to be troublesome. In this respect, the book addresses key issues: What is the status quaestionis of the defense position and procedural rights before international criminal tribunals, more specifically the ICC? Has the Rome Statute lived up to its expectations after a decade of its application? Can defense before international tribunals keep functioning without a Bar? What are the needs for such a defense to be adequate, knowing that it balances on the borderline between the Anglo-Saxon legal system and the Northern European system? At the same time, defense and procedural rights are developing as a result of different EU Directives which have been or are now being negotiated. This is of major importance to every penalist, even in strictly national cases. The book presents and critically assesses the entire EU 'roadmap for strengthening procedural rights of suspected or accused persons in criminal proceedings.' The EU Directives on the right to information in criminal procedure, the right of access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings, and the right to communicate upon arrest - which are about to revolutionize traditional domestic criminal procedural law - are assessed. Further, the book addresses the important implications and challenges for the legal position of detainees as a result of the recent Framework Decision on the mutual recognition of custodial sentences and measures involving deprivation of liberty. Finally, awareness is raised concerning the future of procedural rights in the framework of cross-border evidence gathering and admissibility. The book will be essential reading for both defense practitioners and scholars taking an interest in defense and procedural rights in criminal matters.

This publication contains a number of papers which highlight examples of good practice in relation to criminal policy in member states of the Council of Europe, set out under the headlines of: crime prevention, mediation and other community sanctions, the prison system, and criminal procedure. Many of the papers are written by members of the Criminological Scientific Council of the Council of Europe (CSC).

The volume proposes a breakthrough analysis of defence rights in criminal proceedings, through the lens of a computable approach to the law. It presents a multi-level research, tackling EU law, national legislation, and case-law across the European Union.