11 Amendments of Hubert PIRKER related to 2011/0154(COD)
Amendment 46 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 6 a (new)
Recital 6 a (new)
(6a) The term ‘lawyer’ should be regarded as including any person who is qualified under the national law of the Member State concerned to provide legal advice and assistance to suspects and accused persons and to represent them in court.
Amendment 58 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) A similar right to the presence of a lawyer should be granted every time that national law expressly allows or demands the presence of the suspected or accused person at a procedural step or evidence gathering such as a search; in these cases, in fact, the presence of the lawyer can strengthen the rights of the defence without affecting the need to preserve the confidentiality of certain investigative acts, since the presence of the person excludes the confidential nature of the acts in question; tOnce appointed, the lawyer should be able to ask to be notified that such acts are to be performed. If he was notified in sufficiently good time to enable him to be present when the acts in question are performed, but is not present, this should not prevent the competent authorities from carrying out the investigative measures concerned. This right should be without prejudice to the need to secure evidence which by its very nature is liable to be altered, removed or destroyed if the competent authority was to wait until the arrival of a lawyer.
Amendment 61 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) To be effective, access to a lawyer should entail the possibility for the lawyer to carry out all the wide range of activities which pertain to legal counselling, as the European Court of Human Rights has held. This should include active participation in any interrogation orparticipation in any interrogation, with the possibility, once the law-enforcement or judicial authorities have completed their work, of putting additional questions, requesting clarification or making statements, and active participation in court hearings, meetings with the client to discuss the case and prepare the defence, the search for exculpatory evidence, support to a distressed client and control of detention conditions;
Amendment 66 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) Since confidentiality of communication between a suspect or accused person and their lawyer is key to ensuring the effective exercise of the rights of the defence, Member States should be required to uphold and safeguard the confidentiality of meetings between the lawyer and the client and of any other form of communication permitted under national law. CExceptions to the confidentiality rule should not be subject to any exception; be made only on the basis of strict legal criteria.
Amendment 67 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 14 a (new)
Recital 14 a (new)
(14a) It should be permissible to monitor contacts between a suspect or an accused person and his lawyer only in exceptional circumstances and if both the suspect or accused person and the lawyer have been notified in advance, so that the monitoring is not carried out in secret.
Amendment 68 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 14 a (new)
Recital 14 a (new)
Amendment 80 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 27
Recital 27
(27) Since the European Court of Human Rights has established that irretrievable damage to the rights of the defence results from the use of an incriminating statement made by the suspect or accused person without access to a lawyer, Member States should be required in principle to prohibit the use of any statements given in breach of the right of access to a lawyer as evidence against the suspect or accused person unless the use of such evidence would not prejudice the rights of the defence. This should be without prejudice to the use of statements for other purposes permitted under national law, such as the need to execute urgent investigative acts or to avoid the perpetration of other offences or serious adverse consequences for any person; This should not affect the right guaranteed in some Member States to the judge hearing a case to decide independently on the admissibility of statements or other evidence.
Amendment 112 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 2
Article 4 – paragraph 2
2. The lawyer shall have the right to be present at any questioning and hearing. He shall have the right to ask, once the law- enforcement or judicial authorities have completed the questioning, to ask additional questions, request clarification and make statements, which shall be recorded in accordance with national law.
Amendment 137 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7
Article 7
Member States shall ensure that the confidentiality of meetings between the suspect or accused persona person to whom Article 2 applies and his lawyer is guaranteed. They shall also ensure the confidentiality of correspondence, telephone conversations and other forms of communication permitted under national law between the suspect or accused person and his lawyer. On the basis of instructions from the competent judicial authority, exceptions to the principle of confidentiality shall be considered only if there are grounds for suspecting that the lawyer could be implicated in the offences committed by the accused person or when this is necessary to avert a present danger to a person’s life or freedom.
Amendment 161 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 2
Article 10 – paragraph 2
Amendment 175 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 13 – paragraph 3
Article 13 – paragraph 3
3. Member States shall ensure that the question of which value to be given to statements made by the suspect or accused person or evidence obtained in breach of his right to a lawyer or in cases where a derogation to this right was authorised in accordance with Article 8, may not be used at any stage of the procedure as evidence against him, unless the use of such evidence would not prejudice the rights of the defencethis Directive, shall be determined by that court being responsible for ensuring the overall fairness of the proceedings, in accordance with national legal procedures.