The European Parliament adopted a measure (Directive IP/10/989) on 13 December 2011 to set common EU standards in criminal cases: suspects are to receive a letter of rights listing their basic rights during criminal proceedings. This measure is the second part of a comprehensive package of EU legislation aimed at strengthening the rights of suspects in criminal proceedings as set out in the "Stockholm Program". Previously, a first directive was adopted on the right to interpretation and translation. Notably, a draft third directive on the right to legal counsel was already sent to the Council and the European Parliament last year.
More specifically, the following innovations are introduced by this (second) directive:
- suspects will be informed of their rights following arrest
- they will be given a letter spelling out their rights in writing
- the letter of rights will be easy to understand, without legal jargon
- the letter of rights will be made available in a language the suspect understands
- the letter of rights will contain practical details about the person's rights
This draft (second) directive is yet to be adopted by the Council. This is expected to take place in the next few weeks.
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