MEPs approve new law on access to a lawyer

MEPs this week approved a new EU law to guarantee the rights of all citizens to be advised by a lawyer when facing criminal proceedings.

The new law will mean that anyone who is a suspect – no matter where they are in the European Union – will be guaranteed the right to see a lawyer from the earliest stages of proceedings until their conclusion. The new rules will also ensure that anyone arrested has the opportunity to communicate with their family. If they are in another EU country, citizens will have the right to be in contact with their country’s consulate.

It is the third Directive in a series of proposals to guarantee minimum rights to a fair trial anywhere in the European Union. The others are the right to translation and interpretation, adopted in 2010, and the right to information in criminal proceedings, adopted in 2012.

"EU citizens have the right to a fair trial, whatever their nationality and wherever they are in the Union,” said Viviane Reding, Commission Vice-President and Justice Commissioner. “We have built up a series of procedural rights in EU law and the right to be advised by a lawyer is a central part."

The proposal will now pass to the Council of Ministers of the European Union for formal adoption. 

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