An international human rights group has raised doubts about the effectiveness of the law introduced last year that gives detainees the right to seek legal advice before police questioning.
The Open Society Justice Initiative based in Hungary commented recently in a post on its website – Legal Aid Reformers Network – about the situation in Malta.
The group also carries out what it calls a Salduz Watch to monitor developments in individual countries on the implementation of detainee rights in line with the landmark decision of the European Court of Human Rights in the case instituted by Turkish national Yusuf Salduz.
The Salduz case in 2008 had established the principle that suspects had a right to consult a lawyer before police questioning.
In its comments, the Justice Initiative reacted positively to three landmark decisions by the Maltese Constitutional Court last April, which held that the fundamental human right to a fair trial was breached when suspects were denied the right to speak to a lawyer.
Malta had introduced this right on its statute books in 2002 but it was not implemented until a legal notice was published last year.
However, the group also said: “There are still doubts as to Malta’s compliance with international standards, as they are reflected in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights.”
The group singles out as problematic the fact that the law granting suspects the right to seek legal advice provides for the possibility of delaying access to a lawyer for up to 36 hours while the suspect can be interrogated.
“There are limitations as to when this delay can be ordered and by whom but the limitations are drafted in very broad terms leaving room for abuse,” the group said.
A number of questions were also raised on how the relatively new right is going to be implemented in practice.
Justice Initiative said it will be monitoring how these reforms develop in the future and the group has made contact with Nationalist backbencher Franco Debono, who in 2009 had pressured government to introduce the legal notice.
Dr Debono said it was positive that human rights groups were also monitoring the situation in Malta. “Allowing access to a lawyer was an important step in the right direction but we must continue to monitor the situation, especially now, after the EU Commission’s proposal, and consider whether we have to upgrade this right by introducing the right of disclosure and allowing access to a lawyer during the interrogation proper and not just before,” Dr Debono said.
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 since access is only allowed for one hour before police questioning.
Last week EU Justice Commissioner Vivienne Redding proposed a directive to ensure that suspects across all EU countries are allowed the right to have a lawyer present during interrogation.
ksansone@timesofmalta.com