Government cautious on lawyers’ presence during interrogation

The government is adopting a cautious approach to the European Commission’s proposal granting suspects across the 27 member states the right to have a lawyer present during police interrogation.

A spokesman for the Justice Ministry would not say whether Malta would support the proposal, which was shot down by France, adding that the matter would be “pursued in the coming weeks” together with Nationalist MP Franco Debono who chairs Parliament’s Select Committee on the Codification and Consolidation of Laws.

The proposal for a directive outlined by European Justice Commissioner Vivienne Redding went further than the broad agreement reached in 2009 by member states, allowing suspects to consult a lawyer before being interrogated by the police.

The right to consult a lawyer for one hour before interrogation was only introduced in Malta last year despite the provision having been part of the law since 2002.

“While a broad agreement between member states already existed on the right of access to a lawyer before interrogation, this latest proposal will need to be assessed by all 27 member states and decided upon at Council level in due course,” the spokesman said.

He pointed out that the Commission’s proposal was the next step in the EU roadmap adopted in November 2009 to foster protection of suspected and accused persons in criminal proceedings. Three landmark decisions by the Maltese Constitutional Court last April held that the fundamental human right to a fair trial was breached when suspects were denied the right to speak to a lawyer.

Dr Debono had said that allowing access to a lawyer was an important step in the right direction but Malta had to continue monitoring the situation, especially after the European Commission’s proposal. He also spoke of the need to introduce the right of disclosure and allowing access to a lawyer during interrogation proper. As things stand, the police are not obliged to disclose any information about the case to the lawyer, which affects the quality of legal advice given to the suspect. Also, a lawyer cannot be present during the interrogation.

Speaking on Monday during the TVM discussion programme Bondìplus, Labour justice spokesman Josè Herrera disagreed with the presence of a lawyer during interrogation but insisted the right of disclosure was necessary for lawyers to give proper advice.