Europees Parlement pleit voor meer rechten verdachten bij grensoverschrijdende strafrechtelijke vervolging (en)

People charged in cross-border criminal cases must have the right to appeal, to have some say in where they are tried and to use translation services, Parliament said today. MEPs voted to add these rights to a Council proposal aimed at ensuring that people are not tried twice for the same crime in two different Member States.

The Council text proposes that direct consultations be held between Member States judiciaries so as to keep the proceedings in one Member State. The judicial authorities would have to exchange certain specified information, as a minimum, in cross-border cases.

During the debate held yesterday, the European Commission announced that it would be drafting new legislation to improve the proposed system. If the Lisbon treaty is ratified, the European Parliament will have an equal say with the Council on this legislation.

Defendants' rights

Parliament's amendments aim to strengthen procedural rights: the person formally charged should have a right to appeal, make representations as to the jurisdiction that should try their case and receive translation, interpretation and legal aid, say MEPs.

MEPs also inserted a ban on sharing information on racial or ethnic origin, religion, belief or sexual orientation.

Whose jurisdiction?

The judicial co-operation agency Eurojust should also be more extensively involved, said MEPs. And although the Council proposal cites co-operation and consensus as the guiding principles for avoiding conflicts, the rapporteur regrets that the proposal "does not provide for a mechanism to really solve conflicts of competence nor for appropriate criteria to establish which Member States should have the jurisdiction".

MEPs adopted the report by Renate Weber (ALDE, RO) with 544 votes in favour, 84 against and 17 abstentions.