Activities of Pál CSÁKY related to 2013/0409(COD)
Plenary speeches (1)
Legal aid for suspects and accused persons in criminal proceedings and for requested persons in European arrest warrant proceedings (A8-0165/2015 - Dennis de Jong) HU
Amendments (14)
Amendment 38 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) By establishing minimum rules on the protection of procedural rights of suspects or accused persons, this Directive should strengthen the trust of Member State in criminal justice systems of other Member States and can thus help improve mutual recognition of decisions in criminal matters in order to achieve more effective judicial cooperation within the Union. This Directive seeks to strengthen legal certainty for suspects and accused persons who are deprived of liberty during criminal proceedings.
Amendment 40 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3 a (new)
Recital 3 a (new)
(3a) On 30 November 2009, the Council adopted a resolution on a Roadmap for strengthening procedural rights of suspected or accused persons in criminal proceedings. It is proposing to introduce several legislative initiatives including the right to the assistance of a legal adviser and legal aid in criminal proceedings (measure C).
Amendment 41 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) Three measures on procedural rights in criminal proceedings have been adopted to date, namely Directive 2010/64/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council14 on the right to interpretation and translation, Directive 2012/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council15 on the right to information, and Directive 2013/48/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council.166 on the right to access to a lawyer. __________________ 14Directive 2010/64/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010 on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings (OJ L 280, 26.10.2010, p. 1). 15Directive 2012/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2012 on the right to information in criminal proceedings (OJ L 142, 1.6.2012, p. 1.) 16Directive 2013/48/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2013 on the right of access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings and in European arrest warrant proceedings, and on the right to have a third party informed upon deprivation of liberty and to communicate with third persons and with consular authorities while deprived of liberty (OJ L 294, 6.11.2013, p. 1).
Amendment 42 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) Legal aid should cover, fully or in part, the costs of the defence and the proceedings for suspects or accused persons in criminal proceedings and requested persons in European arrest warrant proceedings.
Amendment 48 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 8 a (new)
Recital 8 a (new)
(8 a) In some Member States certain minor offences, in particular minor traffic offences, minor offences in relation to general municipal regulations and minor public order offences, are considered to be criminal offences. In such situations, it would be unreasonable to require that the competent authorities ensure all the rights under this Directive. Where the law of a Member State provides in respect of minor offences that deprivation of liberty cannot be imposed as a sanction, this Directive should therefore apply only to the proceedings before a court having jurisdiction in criminal matters.
Amendment 54 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 9 a (new)
Recital 9 a (new)
(9a) This directive should allow for differences in the EU Member States’ legal aid systems. Each Member State shall be responsible for the granting of legal aid, which shall be allocated subject to an assessment of financial means (means test) and/or whether it is in the interests of justice to provide aid in the case concerned (merits test).
Amendment 59 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 11 a (new)
Recital 11 a (new)
(11 a) Without prejudice to the right to a fair trial, in case of short term deprivation of liberty for less serious offences, Member States may provide in their legislation for the possibility to limit granting provisional legal aid to cases where this is required by the interests of justice. Whether this is the case shall be assessed by the competent authorities without undue delay upon the deprivation of liberty and at the latest before questioning.
Amendment 70 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) This Directive provides for the right to provisional legal aid and ordinary legal aid for children deprived of liberty and to legal aid for children that are requested in European arrest warrant proceedings. Children deprived of liberty are particularly vulnerable so particular attention should be given to them in accordance with the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on procedural safeguards for children suspected or accused in criminal proceedings.
Amendment 79 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) The Member States should collect relevant data showing how the right to legal aid for suspects or accused persons and requested persons have been accessed. Member States should also collect data on the number of cases where provisional legal aid was provided for suspects or accused persons deprived of liberty, as well as for requested persons, and the number of cases where this right was not exercised. Such data should include the number of requests for legal aid in European arrest warrant proceedings when the Member State acts as issuing and executing State, as well as the number of cases where these requests were granted. Data on the costs for providing provisional legal aid for persons deprived of liberty and for requested persons should also be collected. Those data should be used as the basis for an assessment of the effectiveness of Europe’s legal systems.
Amendment 81 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) This Directive sets minimum rules. Member States may extend the rights set out in this Directive in order to provide a higher level of protection. Such higher level of protection should not constitute an obstacle to the mutual recognition of judicial decisions that those minimum rules are designed to facilitate. The level of protection should never fall below the standards provided by the Charter or the ECHR, as interpreted in the case-law of the Court of Justice and of the ECtHR. Under no circumstances may this Directive be interpreted as restricting the rights and guarantees afforded by national legal systems which offer a higher level of protection.
Amendment 87 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 2
Article 1 – paragraph 2
2. This Directive complements Directive 2013/48/EU on the right of access to a lawyer. Nothing in this Directive shall be interpreted as limiting the rights provided for in that Directive.
Amendment 93 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Without prejudice to the right to a fair trial, in respect of minor offences: (a) where the law of a Member State provides for the imposition of a sanction by an authority other than a court having jurisdiction in criminal matters, and the imposition of such a sanction may be appealed or referred to such a court; or (b) where deprivation of liberty cannot be imposed as a sanction; this Directive shall only apply to the proceedings before a court having jurisdiction in criminal matters. In any event, this Directive shall fully apply where the suspect or accused person is deprived of liberty, irrespective of the stage of the criminal proceedings.
Amendment 119 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Without prejudice to the right to a fair trial, in case of short term deprivation of liberty for less serious offences, and when this is not proportionate taking into account the interests of justice, paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply.
Amendment 122 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 3
Article 4 – paragraph 3
3. Provisional legal aid shall be ensured until the final decision on ordinary legal aid has been taken and comes into effect, or, where the suspects or accused persons are granted legal aid, the appointment of the lawyer has taken effect.