On 9 May 2012 the Finnish Supreme Court issued a decision in a Salduz-type case.

On 9 May 2012 the Finnish Supreme Court issued a decision in a Salduz-type case.

Les avocats francophones et germanophones du pays ont décidé d'arrêter les permanences Salduz dès 30 mars 2012 19h00. Les permanences Salduz sont ces assistances aux suspects lors de leur première audition, dont les avocats réclament le paiement depuis plusieurs mois.

In France, suspects in police detention are assisted mostly by lawyers who are not specialized in criminal law and by stagiaires.

For the moment, this is the end of the line for French criminal lawyers who have challenged the new garde à vue regime.

Sadly, we must report on a country that is going in the opposite direction to the rest of the EU. Recently, the Hungarian government took the alarming step of removing many of the existing procedural safeguards for people in certain criminal matters.

The European Union has taken a significant step towards guaranteeing the arrest rights of suspects—with the approval by the European Commission, the group’s executive body, of a proposed set of legal requirements that would be binding on all of its 27 member states.

On 1 January 2011, the Swiss Code of Criminal Procedure entered into force, bringing with it a massive overhaul of the rules of criminal proceedings in Switzerland.

Something strange is happening in Europe. After years of inaction, governments are suddenly getting serious about arrest rights. Across the continent, many countries are grappling with how to reform rules on the treatment of suspects in police custody to ensure arrested people access to a lawyer before being questioned.

For the moment, this is the end of the line for French criminal lawyers who have challenged the new garde à vue regime.