CONFERENCE. Guaranteeing Procedural Safeguards in the EU

London, 18 November 2010 – 19 November 2010

Directive on the right to interpretation and translation adopted last week.

Last Thursday, European Justice Ministers adopted the first ever EU measure setting common minimum standards for the rights of the defence in criminal matters. The new Directive on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings will guarantee the right of citizens to obtain interpretation throughout criminal proceedings, including when receiving legal advice, in their own language in all courts in the EU and to be provided with written translation of all essential documents. However, this will also mean that legal practitioners in the EU will soon face questions such as

• How to ensure adequate quality of interpretation and translation?
• The need for joint mechanisms to assess the need for interpretation and translation?
• The practical consequences of the possibility to review/challenge a refusal to interpret or translate?
• How to set up of a register of independent translators and interpreters?
• The impact on proceedings concerning a European Arrest Warrant?
• Costs?

The Directive forms the first step in the implementation of the EU's roadmap on procedural rights that was adopted under the Swedish Presidency. However, the next steps have already begun with concrete measures that have been taken for a Directive on the right to information in criminal proceedings and first discussions regarding measures regulating legal assistance and legal aid.

In this conference, experts from the European institutions, national justice ministries, the defence, the judiciary, and academia will discuss the legal and practical consequences of the measures, especially with a view to national differences in the legal systems.

Read more about conference here.