BETA

Awaiting committee decision



2013/0408(COD) Criminal proceedings: procedural safeguards for children suspected or accused
RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Opinion JURI
Opinion JURI THEIN Alexandra (ALDE)
Lead LIBE CHINNICI Caterina (S&D) CSÁKY Pál (EPP), KIRKHOPE Timothy (ECR), GRIESBECK Nathalie (ALDE), DE JONG Dennis (GUE/NGL), LAMBERT Jean (Verts/ALE), FERRARA Laura (EFD)
Lead LIBE ROMERO LÓPEZ Carmen (S&D)
Lead committee dossier: LIBE/8/00269
Legal Basis TFEU 082-p2

Activites

  • 2014/10/20 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • #3298
  • 2014/03/03 Council Meeting
    • 3298 summary
  • 2014/01/13 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • 2013/11/27 Legislative proposal published
    • COM(2013)0822 summary
    • DG {'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/justice/', 'title': 'Justice'}, REDING Viviane

Documents

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

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  • The Council held a policy debate on the proposal for a directive on procedural safeguards for children who are suspected or accused in criminal proceedings. The proposal aims to ensure that children are able to understand and follow the criminal proceedings to which they are subject, and that they can exercise their right to a fair trial.

    It also seeks to prevent reoffending by children and foster their social integration.

    The debate was focused on the following issues:

    • scope: according to the proposal, the directive also applies to suspects and accused persons who are adults, if these persons were children when they committed the criminal offence and the criminal proceedings started when they were children. While certain Member States consider that the directive should no longer apply when the suspect or accused person comes of age, other Member States consider that certain rights should continue to apply in that situation;
    • right of access to a lawyer: the proposal provides that Member States must ensure that children are assisted by a lawyer throughout the criminal proceedings in accordance with Directive 2013/48/EU and that the right of access to a lawyer cannot be waived. A large majority of Member States confirmed that children should not be able to waive their right of access to a lawyer, independently of whether or not they are deprived of liberty. Some exceptions for minor cases should however apply;
    • right to protection of privacy: according to the proposal, Member States must ensure that criminal proceedings involving children take place in the absence of the public, unless, after due consideration of the best interests of the child, exceptional circumstances justify a derogation. A large majority of Member States favour, or can at least accept, the option whereby the directive would not contain any principle on the issue of the protection of privacy, but that Member States should ensure such privacy, taking the interests of children duly into account.

    On the basis of this guidance, the preparatory bodies of the Council will continue the work on the proposal. The Presidency aims to reach agreement on a general approach on the text in June, which will then constitute the basis for the negotiations with the European Parliament.

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  • PURPOSE: to establish common minimum standards on procedural safeguards for children suspected or accused 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 asked the Commission to put forward proposals setting out a step by step approach to strengthening the rights of suspects and accused persons.

    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 strengthening certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and of the right to be present at trial in criminal proceedings; (ii) a directive on provisional legal aid for suspects or accused persons deprived of liberty and legal aid in European arrest warrant proceedings.

    This measure also forms part of the EU Agenda for the Rights of the Child to which the European Parliament, the Council of Europe and UNICEF have contributed. It is presented together with a Commission Recommendation on procedural safeguards for vulnerable persons suspected or accused in criminal proceedings and vulnerable persons subject to European arrest warrant proceedings.

    By establishing minimum rules on the protection of procedural rights of suspects or accused persons, this Directive should strengthen the trust of Member States in the criminal justice systems of other Member States and can thus help improve mutual recognition of decisions in criminal matters.

    IMPACT ASSESSMENT : the Commission has undertaken an impact assessment to support this proposal.

    CONTENT : the draft directive aims to:

    ·        establish procedural safeguards to ensure that children who are suspected or accused in criminal proceedings are able to understand and follow those proceedings;

    ·        enable such children to exercise their right to a fair trial and to prevent re-offending by children and foster their social integration.

    The directive will apply to children, meaning persons under the age of 18, subject to criminal proceedings from the time when they become suspected or accused of having committed an offence and until the conclusion of the criminal proceedings.

    Children will have the following procedural guarantees :

    Right to information: the child should be informed promptly of the rights under the Directive. In proceedings involving children, the urgency principle should be applied to provide a rapid response and protect the best interests of the child.

    Right to information of the holder of parental responsibility: further complementary safeguards are provided with regard to the information of the holder of parental responsibility or an appropriate adult in order the take into account the specific needs of children provided that this does not prejudice the due course of the criminal proceedings.

    Right to an individual assessment: such an individual assessment is needed in order to identify the child's specific needs in terms of protection, education, training and re-integration into society, to determine to what extent he or she would need special measures during criminal proceedings. The individual assessment should be carried out at the latest before the indictment.

    Right to a lawyer: the directive aims to ensure mandatory access to a lawyer for children who are suspected or accused in criminal proceedings. It also provides that children may not waive this right. However, there are exceptions that include certain minor offences in relation to general municipal regulations and minor public order offences.

    Right to medical examination: if the child is deprived of liberty, the child should have the right to medical examination upon request by the holder of parental responsibility, the appropriate adult or the child's lawyer. If the medical examination of a child leads to the conclusion that the measures envisaged during the criminal proceedings against the child (e.g. questioning of the child, detention) are incompatible with the general mental and physical condition of the child, the competent authorities should take appropriate measures in accordance with national law.

    Questioning of children: if a child is deprived of liberty, questioning should always be recorded. Such records must be accessible only to the judicial authorities and the parties of the proceedings to ensure their content and context.

    Right to liberty: in accordance with United Nation’s rules on the rights of the child, any form of deprivation of liberty of children should be a measure of last resort and be for the shortest appropriate period of time. Taking into account these international standards, this Directive sets minimum rules as regards detention.

    In order to avoid deprivation of liberty for children, competent authorities should take any alternative measures to deprivation of liberty whenever this is in the best interests of the child.

    Right to specific treatment in case of deprivation of liberty: children in particular should have the right to: (i) maintain regular and meaningful contact with parents, family and friends; (ii) receive appropriate education, guidance and training; (iii) receive medical care; (iv) be kept separately from adults in order to take into account their vulnerability.

    Right to protection of privacy: children should be judged in the absence of public. In exceptional cases the court may decide that a hearing is held publicly after it has taken due account of the best interests of the child. In order to ensure proper assistance and support of the child during court hearings, the holder of parental responsibility should be present.

    Right of children to appear in person at the trial: the right to be present at trial applies to any trial aiming at assessing the question of the guilt of the accused person (both conviction and acquittal decisions).

    European arrest warrant proceedings: the proposal applies to children subject to proceedings pursuant to Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA from the time they are arrested in the executing State. The competent authorities in executing Member States shall apply the rights set out in the directive, which will promote mutual trust and mutual recognition.

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