Strengthening the protection of suspects' procedural rights in pretrial proceedings in the EU through practice-oriented training for laywers (SUPRALAT).

The overall project's goal is to contribute to the effective implementation of the Directives 2010/64/EU on the right to interpretation and translation, 2012/13/EU on the right to information, 2013/48/EU on the right of access to a lawyer. It will be achieved through the development of a training program for lawyers on the day-to-day facilitation of suspects' procedural rights. The program will consist of practitioner training modules and a "train the trainer" (TTT) guide. The training focuses on pre-trial proceedings, because the Directives will mostly affect these procedural stages in the MS. It targets lawyers, as their role at pre-trial stages will expand greatly after the Directives' transposition. For example, lawyers will be expected to actively defend suspects' rights at police interrogations, which in most MS was not part of their role. However, a large part of the program will also be suitable for training police, judges and prosecutors. The objectives are: 1. Develop a training program for lawyers as described above, and pilot it in four EU countries: BE, HU, IE and NL 2. Advocate for practice-oriented training on facilitating suspects' rights in pre-trial proceedings to become part of professional training curricula for criminal lawyers in EU MS 3. Contribute to the exchange of best practices on facilitating the rights envisaged in the Directives among lawyers across the EU 4. Promote joint training of professionals involved in the delivery of suspects' rights at pre-trial stages to foster their cooperation in the application of the Directives. The project consists of 6 phases: 1. Develop European training modules to include knowledge-oriented (KO) and skills-oriented (SO) modules. KO modules will cover: the content and interpretation of the Directives (e.g. in view of ECtHR case law); roles/obligations of the relevant actors implied in the Directives; "best practices" in facilitating suspects' rights identified through empirical research. SO modules will train critical skills needed to facilitate procedural rights (e.g. to inform vulnerable suspects about their rights). 2. Develop a TTT guide on the use of these modules 3. Adjust the training program for national use in BE, IE, HU and NL 4. Train the trainers involved in lawyers' training in BE, IE, HU and NL (with participation of police, judges' and prosecutors' trainers) 5. Pilot the training modules in BE, IE, HU and NL. Parts of the training will be attended by police, prosecutors and/or judges to test the joint training design 6. Present/disseminate the training program to professional (training) organizations of lawyers and other stakeholders EU-wide

Keywords:INTERVIEW, LAWYERS, LAW, TRAINING PROGRAMMES

Disciplines:Law, Other law and legal studies

Project type:Collaboration project