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Kwetsbare verdachten in de strafprocedure. Een onderzoek naar de conceptualisering van kwetsbaarheid en naar de rol van de advocaat bij de vaststelling van de kwetsbaarheid van de verdachte tijdens het strafrechtelijk vooronderzoek

Boek - Dissertatie

Being a suspect in a criminal procedure can cause upheaval. The situational circumstances that come with being a suspect, such as being questioned by the police, fatigue and isolation from family and friends can have a major impact. In addition, suspects may suffer from a psychological problem, such as (mental) disorders, which may hamper their understanding of the proceedings and their legal rights. Moreover, the statements such vulnerable suspects provide to the police, public prosecutor or (investigative) judge may be inconsistent, incorrect or even false. Both the academic literature and recent EU legal instruments recognize the specific needs of vulnerable suspects. In particular, the criminal defence lawyer has an important role in compensating for a suspect's vulnerability, especially since such persons need special care to understand their legal rights and to improve their statements for the purpose of an effective defence. Consequently, the defence needs to identify early whether his client can be qualified as vulnerable. Yet, there is no clear and unequivocal approach to, nor a comprehensive definition of 'vulnerability'. In addition, there is insufficient knowledge of the approach to be taken in dealing with vulnerable suspects, either by the authorities in a criminal procedure or by defence lawyers, to whom the special care for vulnerable suspects is increasingly assigned. This knowledge gap relates to both the legal framework and current practices of identifying vulnerable suspects and their procedural safeguards. The envisaged research therefore aims to 1) analyse the concept 'vulnerability'; 2) explore legally and practically when and how a vulnerable suspect can be identified and treated as such by the defence in relation to the stages of the Belgian pre-trial investigation; and 3) develop and test a model with indicators to improve the identification of vulnerable suspects by the defence.
Jaar van publicatie:2021
Toegankelijkheid:Closed