Activities of Rachida DATI 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) FR
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on provisional legal aid for suspects or accused persons deprived of liberty and legal aid in European arrest warrant proceedings PDF (645 KB) DOC (383 KB)
Amendments (26)
Amendment 35 #
Proposal for a directive
Title 1
Title 1
Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on provisional legal aid for suspects or accused persons deprived of liberty and legal aid in European arrest warrant proceedings
Amendment 37 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) The purpose of this Directive is to ensure the effectiveness of the right of access to a lawyer by providing assistance by the Member States for persons deprived of liberty at anthe earlyiest stages in the criminal proceedings and for requested persons in surrender procedures pursuant to Council Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA11 (European arrest warrant proceedings). __________________ 11Council Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA of 13 June 2002 on the European arrest warrant and the surrender procedures between Member States (OJ L 190, 18.7.2002, p. 1).
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 39 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2 a (new)
Recital 2 a (new)
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 44 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 6 a (new)
Recital 6 a (new)
(6a) In accordance with Directive 2013/48/EU, legal aid is provided within the Member States in accordance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Charter’ and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR). Where suspects or accused persons are deprived of liberty, Member States should make the necessary arrangements to ensure that such persons are in a position to exercise effectively their right of access to a lawyer, including by arranging for the assistance of a lawyer when the persons concerned do not have one, unless they have waived that right. Under this directive, such arrangements could include those on legal aid if applicable.
Amendment 46 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 8
Recital 8
Amendment 51 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) In order for suspects or accused persons who are deprived of liberty to be in a position to exercise effectively the right of access to a lawyer at the early stages of the proceedings, they should not have to wait for access to a lawyer pending the processing of the application for ordinary legal aid and the assessment of the eligibility criteria for legal aidordinary legal aid. Suspects and accused persons who are deprived of liberty are particularly vulnerable during the very early stages of criminal proceedings. Member States should therefore ensure that effective provisional legal aid is available without undue delay after the deprivation of liberty and before any questioning, and it should be available at least until the competent authority has taken the decision on legal aid and, in cases of full or partial rejection, this decision has become final, or, where the application for legal aid is granted, the appointment of the lawyer by the competent authority has taken effect.
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 56 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) The Member States should ensure that provisional legal aid is provided to the extent necessary and is not limited in a way that prevents the suspects or accused persons from exercising effectively the right of access to a lawyer as provided for in particular in Article 3(3) of Directive 2013/48/EU.
Amendment 65 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) To ensure the effective access to a lawyer in the executing Member State for requested persons, Member States should ensure that such persons have access to legal aid until the surrender, or, in cases of non-surrender, until the decision on surrender has become final. The right to legal aid may be subject to an assessment of the means of the requested person and/or whether it is in the interests of justice to provide legal aid, in Member States in which legal aid is subject to a means test, and/or an assessment of whether it is in the interests of justice to provide legal aid, in Member States in which legal aid is subject to a merits test, according to the applicable eligibility criteria in the executing Member State in question.
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 74 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) When implementing this Directive, Member States should ensure the respect of the fundamental right of legal aid as provided for in Articles 47(3) of the Charter and Article 6(3)(c) ECHR and ensure that legal aid is available to those who do not have sufficient resources to pay for legal assistance when the interest of justice so requires, in accordance with the rules in force in the Member States.
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 84 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) the right to provisional legal aid and to ordinary legal aid for suspects or accused persons in criminal proceedings who are deprived of liberty, and
Amendment 86 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) the right to provisional legal aid and to ordinary legal aid for requested persons who are subject to European arrest warrant proceedings.
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 100 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) provisional legal aid means legal aid to a person deprived of liberty from the initial stages in proceedings until the decision on legal aid has been taken,
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.
Amendment 138 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 a (new)
Article 4 a (new)
Article 4a Access to ordinary legal aid 1. Member States shall ensure that the persons referred to in Article 4(1) have access to ordinary legal aid in accordance with the rules in force in the Member States in cases where they lack sufficient financial resources to meet some or all of the costs of the defence and the proceedings (‘means test’) and/or when such aid is required in the interests of justice (‘merits test’). Member States shall ensure that ordinary legal aid is provided to the extent necessary to effectively exercise the right of access to a lawyer under Directive 2013/48/EU, in particular having regard to Article 3(3) of that Directive. 3. Member States shall draw up clear and precise criteria for determining whether or not to grant legal aid. They shall ensure that information on the granting of legal aid in criminal proceedings is accessible to and readily understandable for the persons concerned.
Amendment 144 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 3
Article 5 – paragraph 3
3. The right to legal aid referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 may be subject to an assessment of the means of the requested person in Member States in which legal aid is subject to a means test and/or whether it is in the interests of justice to provide legal aid in Member States in which legal aid is subject to a merits test, according to the applicable eligibility criteria in the Member State in question.
Amendment 148 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 a (new)
Article 5 a (new)
Article 5a Legal aid quality guarantees 1. Member States shall be responsible for taking the necessary action to guarantee that the legal aid services provided are of a sufficiently high standard to ensure that the right to due process is upheld. Member States shall accordingly take effective steps to ensure that the services provided by the lawyers that have been assigned to cases afford suspects and accused persons deprived of liberty a high-quality defence. 2. Such guarantees may include accreditation systems for legal aid lawyers. Appropriate training for staff with responsibility for legal aid matters may also be provided.
Amendment 153 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall collect relevant data with regard to how the rights in Articles 4 and Article 5, 4a, 5 and 5a have been implemented.