21 Amendments of Victor NEGRESCU related to 2013/0407(COD)
Amendment 36 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) In the Stockholm Programme the European Council invited the Commission to examine further elements of minimum procedural rights for suspects or accused persons, and to assess whether other issues, for instance the presumption of innocence, need to be addressed, in order to promote better cooperation in that area between the Member State authorities responsible.
Amendment 38 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) This Directive should facilitatelead to the practical application of the right to be presumed innocent and all its different aspects and also of the right to be present at one's trial, with a view to safeguarding the right to a fair trial.
Amendment 41 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 10
Recital 10
Amendment 43 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 11 a (new)
Recital 11 a (new)
(11a) Article 14(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) states that everyone charged with a criminal offence shall have the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.
Amendment 52 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) Any compulsion used to compelor the suspect or accused person to provide information should be limited. To determine whether the compulsion did not violate those rights, the following should be taken into account, in the light of all circumstances of the case: the nature and degree of compulsion to obtain the evidence, the weight of the public interest in the investigation and punishment of the offense at issue, the existence of any relevant safeguards in the procedure and the use to which any material so obtained is put. However, the degree of compulsion imposed one of physical or psychological violence, torture, inhuman or degrading treatments or other threats directed against the suspect or accused person used to compel the suspects or accused persons with a view to compelling them to provide information relating to charges against them should not destroy the very essence of their right not to incriminate one-self and their right to remain silent, even for reasons of security and public order to provide information should be prohibited under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Amendment 55 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) The right not to incriminate oneself and not to cooperate should not extend to the use in criminal proceedings of material which may be obtained from the suspect or accused person through the use of lawful compulsory powers but which has an existence independent of the will of the suspects or accused persons, such as material acquired pursuant to a warrant, material in respect of which there is a legal obligation of retention and production upon request, breath, blood and urine samples and bodily tissue for the purpose of DNA testing, taking into consideration, however, that such methods might be unlawful if inadmissible intrusive medical practices were employed to obtain evidence that could be used against the suspect or accused person.
Amendment 58 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 20
Recital 20
(20) The right not to incriminate oneself and not to cooperate and the right to remain silent should apply as regards questions material to the offence that someone is suspected or accused of having committed and not, for example, as regards questions relating to the personal identification of a suspect or accused person.
Amendment 60 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 24 a (new)
Recital 24 a (new)
(24a) Within one year after the entry into force of this Directive, Member States are invited to harmonise legislation - formalities, methods and procedural requirements - with a view to obtaining specific results regarding the right of a suspect or accused person to be presumed innocent.
Amendment 61 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 26
Recital 26
(26) The principle of effectiveness of Union law requires that Member States put in place adequate and effective remedies in the event of a breach of a right conferred upon individuals by Union law. The measures should be embodied in the national law of each Member State and should preferably apply uniformly throughout the Union. An effective remedy available in the event of a breach of any of the principles laid down in this Directive should have, as far as possible, the effect of placing the suspects or accused persons in the same position in which they would have found themselves had the breach not occurred.
Amendment 62 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 26 a (new)
Recital 26 a (new)
(26a) Infringement of provisions regarding presumption of innocence and the right of those concerned to attend their trial should lead to remedies such as: 1. Resumption of trial from the initial stages where necessary, ensuring compliance with minimum requirements and all the rights set out in this Directive: the right not to be presented as guilty by the authorities before final judgment, ensuring that the burden of proof rests with the prosecution and that the accused are given the benefit of any reasonable doubt as to their guilt, the right of those concerned not to incriminate themselves, the right to refuse cooperation, the right to remain silent and the right of those concerned to be present at their trial; 2. Resumption of trial from the stage at which the rules and rights set out in this Directive were infringed. Under the phased transition to Union law, future decisions regarding criminal proceedings within the remit of the European Public Prosecutor's Office may be (subsequently) reviewed in the light of national statute law and case law which, in certain Member States, may be much more restrictive than the minimum standards imposed under this Directive.
Amendment 63 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 27
Recital 27
(27) In order to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of this Directive, Member States shoula new organism set up within the remit of the European Public Prosecutor's Office should monitor and collect data with regard to the implementation in the Member States of the rights set out in this Directive. Such data should include data recorded by law enforcement and judicial authorities as regards the remedy applied where there has been a breach of any of the aspects of the right to presumption of innocence covered by this Directive and a breach of the right to be present at one's trial.
Amendment 65 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) cCertain aspects of the right to the presumption of innocence in criminal proceedings, such as the right not to be presented as guilty by the authorities before the final judgment, ensuring that the burden of proof rests with the prosecution and that the accused receive the benefit of any reasonable doubt as to their guilt, the right to be informed of the accusation in criminal proceedings, as well as also other related rights, such as the right of the those concerned not to incriminate themselves, the right to refuse cooperation, the right to remain silent, the right not to acknowledge guilt, the right not to be compelled to testify against themselves, the right to liberty and the right not to be placed in pre-trial detention, these rights being the essence of what constitutes a fair trial under Article 6 ECHR;
Amendment 66 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2
Article 2
This Directive applies to natural persons suspected or accused in criminal proceedings, even before being informed by the Member State authorities, through official notification or any other means of the fact that they are suspected or accused of having committed an offence and until the final conclusion of those proceedings.
Amendment 74 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 2
Article 4 – paragraph 2
Member States shall ensure that appropriate measures are taken in the event of a breach of that requiremente rules laid down in this Directive, such as: 1. Financial compensation; 2. The resumption of the case from the initial stage, where necessary, in accordance with the minimum rules and all the rights provided for in this Directive: the right not to be presented as guilty by public authorities before the final judgment, the fact that the burden of proof is on the prosecution and that any reasonable doubts as to the guilt should benefit the accused, the right not to incriminate oneself, the right not to cooperate and the right to remain silent, and the right to be present at one's trial; 3. The resumption of the case from the stage when the rules and rights provided for in this Directive were breached. In line with the ‘step-by-step’ approach of intervention of Union law, in the case of criminal proceedings pursued by the European Public Prosecutor's Office, future initiatives in this field may also be considered at a later date, depending on the evolution of national legislation and case law, which in some Member States may be much more restrictive than the minimum rules laid down by this Directive.
Amendment 87 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Member States should nevertheless also consider that such methods could be unlawful where, by using non-accepted intrusive medical procedures, elements of a testimonial nature could be obtained that could incriminate the suspect or accused person, before a final irrevocable judgment.
Amendment 94 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2
Article 7 – paragraph 2
2. Member States shall promptly inform the suspect or accused persons, through the competent bodies, of their right to remain silent, and explain the content of this right and the consequences of renouncing or invoking it.
Amendment 96 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 3
Article 7 – paragraph 3
3. Exercise of the right to remain silent shall not be used against a suspect or accused person at a later stage in the proceedings and shall not be considered as a corroboration of facts or used to establish the punishment, even implicitly.
Amendment 108 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9
Article 9
Member States shall ensure that where the suspects or accused persons were not present at the trial referred to in Article 8(1) and the conditions laid down in Article 8(2) and (3) are not met, the person concerned has the right to a new trial at which they have the right to be present and which allows a fresh determination of the merits of the case, including examination of new evidence, and which may lead to the original decision to be reversed. The new trial shall be conducted in accordance with the presumption of innocence until a final irrevocable judgment has been handed down.
Amendment 112 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 10 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Amendment 113 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 11 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 11 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Following the publication of this Directive and after its entry into force, the Member States are invited, within a year, to harmonise their legislation – the forms and methods, and the procedural requirements that are applied – to achieve the results specified as regards the right of suspects or accused persons to be presumed innocent.
Amendment 114 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 11 – paragraph 1 b (new)
Article 11 – paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. The European Public Prosecutor's Office is invited, through a newly created internal body whose purpose is to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of this Directive, to identify and collect data with regard to the exercise of and respect for the rights set out in this Directive, in all the Member States.