This web site aims to provide the legal community, especially law practitioners and enforcement agencies, with a modern tool which could provide them with basic knowledge of norms in force and practices in each EU member, related to:

rights of the accused during the pre-trial phase of criminal proceedings

Those legal practitioners working on cases with cross-border elements will find abundant normative information on: the right to legal assistance in early stages of proceedings, linguistic issues, the intervention of Consulates, problems of discrimination against vulnerable groups, and national solutions for balancing security and human rights.

The purpose of the project is to carry out a comparative study on regulation and praxis in all EU Member States with the goal to find grounds for minimum European standards of best practices and rules compatibility which could lead to possible harmonization of legislation guaranteeing the right to defence in pre-trial procedures – i.e. during the period of preliminary investigation before the moment of formal accusation and/or until the decision to prosecute or archive is issued - involving criminal cases either with cross-border elements or specifically within a warrant of arrest framework. The study will focus in particular on: the right to be informed about the reason of the detention; the right to fair handling of evidence and admission of proof; the right to review decisions and appeal before executing the warrant of arrest.