Brussels wants justice to speak Maltese across Europe

Maltese facing criminal charges anywhere the EU will have the right to demand that all proceedings and evidence throughout the whole process be translated into Maltese, if a Commission proposal tabled yesterday is approved.

If it gets the green light, EU citizens will have the right to a fair hearing in their mother tongue, independently of where accusations are made.

So far, the practice is for foreigners to be given oral translations which summarise the evidence. But the Commission deems this not to be satisfactory.

It would like to see EU citizens being guaranteed the right to comprehend and plead their defence in the language they understand.

It is also being proposed that translation be provided for communication with lawyers and during investigations, such as in police questioning, and at the trial.

To ensure proceedings are fair, the proposal covers written translation of all essential documents such as the detention order, the charge sheet or indictment and vital pieces of evidence.

The proposal states citizens must have the right to legal advice before waiving the right to interpretation and translation and that people should not be pressured into giving up their rights unless they have spoken to a lawyer.

All translation and interpretation costs would be met by the member state and not by the suspect, irrespective of the final outcome.

According to the EU Executive, individuals cannot fully exercise their defence rights unless they understand the language used at a hearing, have a full translation of all evidence and can communicate with their lawyer.

"More and more Europeans travel, study and work outside their home country. As a result, they are more likely to become involved in legal proceedings in another member state. Citizens may face a criminal charge and not be able to understand and speak the language used by judicial authorities," the Commission said.

EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said the proposal was the first step towards a Europe where justice knew no borders.

"Nobody in the EU should ever feel their rights and their protection are weakened simply because they are not in their home country," she said.

"Without clear guarantees that all EU countries respect our citizens' fundamental rights, how can we build trust between the authorities who should be working together to keep us safe? Justice and security go hand in hand."

According to Ms Reding, member states and the European Parliament should act as fast as possible on the proposal so that a political agreement is reached before the summer.

The Commission is planning to submit other proposals covering judicial areas, including the right to information about charges, legal advice before and during the trial, legal aid and the right for a detained person to communicate with family members, employers and consular authorities.