Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and of the right to be present at trial in criminal proceedings

This proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and the Council aims to strengthen certain aspects of the right of suspects or accused persons in criminal proceedings throughout the European Union to be presumed innocent until proven guilty by a final judgment and to strengthen the right to be present at one's trial.

The Stockholm Programme put a strong focus on the strengthening of the rights of individuals in criminal proceedings. The European Council invited the Commission to put forward proposals, setting out a step by step approach to strengthening the rights of suspects or accused persons by setting common minimum standards on fair trial rights.

Three measures have already been adopted:
- Directive 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
- Directive 2012/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2012 on the right to information in criminal proceedings
- Directive 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.

Measures on the protection of vulnerable persons suspected or accused in criminal proceedings are presented as a package with the present initiative, together with a Directive on provisional legal aid for suspects or accused persons deprived of liberty and legal aid in European arrest warrant proceedings.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)821: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:821:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2013)478: Impact assessment http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2013:478:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2013)479: Executive summary of the impact assessment http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2013:479:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2013)500: Implementation plan http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2013:500:FIN

ESO: Background information: The Right to… - a Fair Trial! Commission wants more safeguards for citizens in criminal proceedings http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-the-right-to-a-fair-trial-commission-wants-more-safeguards-for-citizens-in-criminal-proceedings/

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