Awaiting committee decision
Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
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Opinion | JURI | ||
Opinion | JURI | THEIN Alexandra (ALDE) | |
Lead | LIBE | ||
Lead | LIBE | WEBER Renate (ALDE) |
Legal Basis TFEU 082-p2
Activites
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2014/01/13
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
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2013/11/27
Legislative proposal published
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COM(2013)0821
summary
PURPOSE: to ensure the right to a fair trial by setting out common minimum standards on certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and of the right to be present at trial in criminal proceedings PROPOSED ACT: Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council. BACKGROUND: 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 consider establishing minimum procedural rights for suspects or accused persons, and to address the issue of presumption of innocence, in order to promote better cooperation in that area. Up to now, three measures have been adopted: Directive 2010/64/EU on the right to interpretation and translation, Directive 2012/13/EU on the right to information and Directive 2013/48/EU on the right of access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings. The proposal continues this work and is part of a series of measures on criminal justice which includes: (i) a directive on provisional legal aid for suspects or accused persons deprived of liberty and legal aid in European arrest warrant proceedings; (ii) a directive on procedural safeguards for children suspected or accused in criminal proceedings Moreover, on 14 June 2011, the Commission published a Green Paper on the application of EU criminal justice legislation in the field of detention to reflect on ways to strengthen the application of the principle of mutual recognition in the area of detention, within the limits of the EU's competence. The principle of presumption of innocence has been developed over the years. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that Article 6(2) of the ECHR encompasses three key requirements: (i) the right not to be publicly presented as convicted by public authorities before the final judgment; (ii) the fact that the burden of proof is on prosecution and that any reasonable doubts on guilt should benefit the accused; and (iii) the right of the accused to be informed of the accusation against him. The right to be present at trial is also an essential right of defence. IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the Commission’s analysis considers that there exist points in which legal safeguards should be improved with regard to certain aspects the presumption of innocence to strengthen this fundamental right. CONTENT: the draft directive aims to lay down minimum rules concerning certain aspects of the right of suspects and accused persons to be presumed innocent unless proven guilty by a final judgment. The proposal covers the following rights: 1) The right not to be presented guilty by public authorities before the final judgment: the ECtHR established as one of the basic aspects of the principle of presumption of innocence the fact that a court or public official may not publicly present the suspects or accused persons as if they were guilty of an offence if they have not been tried and convicted of it by a final judgment. 2) The burden of proof is on prosecution and any reasonable doubts on the guilt should benefit the accused: this presupposes that a court's judgment must be based on evidence as put before it and not on mere allegations or assumptions. 3) The right not to incriminate one-self and not to cooperate and the right to remain silent: these rights lie at the heart of the notion of a fair trial under Article 6 of the ECHR. · the right not to incriminate oneself presupposes that the prosecution in a criminal case seeks to prove the case against the accused without resort to evidence obtained through methods of coercion or oppression; · the right to remain silent must be ensured and any inferences drawn from the fact that suspects make use of this right should be excluded. Suspects should be promptly informed of their right to remain silent. Such information should also refer to the content of the right to remain silent and of the consequences of renouncing to it and of invoking it. 4) Right to be present at one's trial: the proposal lays down this right, established by the ECtHR, of an accused to be present at the trial and also establishes limited exceptions to this right, in line with the Charter, the ECHR and EU law. It provides that Member States must ensure that the right to be present applies to any trial aiming at assessing the question of the guilt of the accused person (both conviction and acquittal decisions). Non-regression clause: the proposal aims to ensure that setting common minimum standards does not have the effect of lowering standards in certain Member States and that the standards set in the Charter and in the ECHR are maintained.
- DG {'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/justice/', 'title': 'Justice'}, REDING Viviane
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COM(2013)0821
summary
Documents
- Legislative proposal published: COM(2013)0821
Amendments | Dossier |
16 |
2013/0407(COD)
2014/03/25
JURI
16 amendments...
Amendment 24 #
Proposal for a directive Citation 1 a (new) - having regard to Article 11 of the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
Amendment 25 #
Proposal for a directive Citation 1 b (new) - having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and in particular Article 48 thereof on the presumption of innocence and right of defence,
Amendment 26 #
Proposal for a directive Citation 1 c (new) - having regard to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, known as the European Convention on Human Rights,
Amendment 27 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 1 (1) The purpose of this Directive is to enhance the right to a fair trial in criminal proceedings by laying down minimum rules concerning certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and the right to be present at the trial, and to ensure that a common and sufficiently high level of protection and the procedural safeguards linked thereto are available to suspects and accused persons throughout the EU, without prejudice to the higher protection standards which may be in use in a given Member State.
Amendment 28 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 17 Amendment 29 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 21 (21) The right to a fair trial is one of the basic principles in a democratic society. The right of an accused person to be present at the trial is based on th
Amendment 30 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 Member States shall ensure that suspects or accused persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a public trial at which they have had all the guarantees necessary for their defence.
Amendment 31 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 Member States shall ensure that suspects or accused persons are presumed innocent until
Amendment 32 #
Proposal for a directive Article 5 – paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Any doubt shall benefit natural persons suspected or accused in criminal proceedings.
Amendment 33 #
Proposal for a directive Article 6 – paragraph 1 1. Member States shall ensure that suspects or accused persons have the right not to incriminate themselves
Amendment 34 #
Proposal for a directive Article 6 – paragraph 4 (4) Any evidence obtained in breach of this Article shall not be admissible
Amendment 35 #
Proposal for a directive Article 7 – paragraph 4 (4) Any evidence obtained in breach of this Article shall not be admissible
Amendment 36 #
Proposal for a directive Article 8 – paragraph 3 a (new) 3а. Provided that the conditions laid down in Article 8 are duly met, Member States shall be completely free to make use of simplified procedures in criminal proceedings concerning minor offences.
Amendment 37 #
Proposal for a directive Article 8 – paragraph 3 b (new) 3b. A minor offence within the meaning of Article 8(3)(a) means any offence under national law punishable by a custodial sentence of a maximum period of one year or by another, lighter, penalty under the law of the Member State in which the criminal proceedings are being conducted.
Amendment 38 #
Proposal for a directive Article 10 – paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Any use of force not necessary to secure the person of the accused shall be severely punished.
Amendment 39 #
Proposal for a directive Article 12 – paragraph 1 a (new) This Directive shall not have the effect of modifying, or introducing additional guarantees concerning, the obligation to respect fundamental rights and legal principles as enshrined in Article 6 of the TEU, including the rights of persons subject to criminal proceedings, and any obligations incumbent on public authorities in this respect shall remain unaffected.
source: PE-532.333
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