What is it about?
The right to legal assistance for suspects in police custody is a controversial matter in European law. This article examines the reasons behind giving access to a lawyer for each suspect detained and interrogated by police. Establishing the reasons, or rationales, for the existence of this right in European law would help to interpret its controversial aspects (such as whether the lawyer should be able to play an active role during interrogations).
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Why is it important?
This article is timely because of the recent entry into force of the EU Directive on the right of access to a lawyer to suspects and accused in criminal proceedings, and the current developments in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights on this matter (Ibrahim and others v. UK; Simeonovi v. Bulgaria and Beuze v. Belgium cases).
Perspectives
I hope that this article would make the readers think about the importance of fair trial values in the era of insecurity, terrorism, and other perceived 'global threats'. Human rights are not a very popular concept nowadays and it definitely needs certain re-thinking. However, procedural fairness, which lies at the heart of a 'fair trial', is something innate to human beings (as proven by psychology research).
Anna Pivaty
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Right to Custodial Legal Assistance in Europe: In Search for the Rationales, European Journal of Crime Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, January 2018, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/15718174-02601004.
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