Procedural Rights

The most up-to-date and relevant documents, press releases, academic comment, legislation, and case-law is collated and organised here in this fully-searchable central storage space. Here you can get an overall sense of the information available in the area of procedural rights or quickly find a specific document.

Procedural Rights Home


Case Law Database
Stockholm Program—Swedish Procedural Rights Roadmap

Right to Interpretation and Translation (Measure A)


Official documents

This section provides official documents detailing the history of negotiations between the EU institutions on the Directive on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings. The Directive began life as a Commission proposal for a Framework Decision in July 2009, which was drafted after negotiations on one legal instrument incorporating a number of procedural rights, proposed in 2004, fell apart. Negotiations between the Council and the Parliament (with some input from the Council of Europe) went on until November 2009, when it became apparent that the text would have to be 'Lisbonised' due to the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in 1 December 2009. 13 Member States subsequently proposed a draft Directive; just months later the Commission made its own proposal. Negotiations continued on the basis of the Commission's text, and after one secret trilogue between the Council, Parliament and Commission, the final act was adopted in October 2010.

The documents below are provided in chronological order, with the most recent first. The adopted Directive can be found here.

Council, 12 November 2010: EULITA's position concerning the implementation of the EU Directive on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings

"Delegations will find attached a document by EULITA [the European Legal Interpreters and Translators Association]."

  • Author: EULITA
  • Document Number: 10164/10
  • Document Date: Fri, November 12, 2010
  • File: Download File
Council, 8 October 2010: PRESS RELEASE: 3034th Council meeting, Justice and Home Affairs, Luxembourg, 7-8 October 2010

The Council adopts the Directive on the right to interpretation and translation.

  • Author: Council of the European Union
  • Document Number: 14423/10
  • Document Date: Fri, October 08, 2010
  • File: Download File

Information on the "state of play" on negotiations, and two aspects of the proposed Directive examined from the perspective of "e-Justice".

  • Author: Presidency
  • Document Number: 13326/10
  • Document Date: Thu, September 16, 2010
  • File: Download File
Council, 24 June 2010: Suggestion for a Council Recommendation fostering the implementation by Member States of the rights to interpretation and to translation in criminal proceedings

The "Friends of the Presidency" propose the adoption of a non-binding Council Recommendation on "best practice" with regard to interpretation and translation as "such instrument could provide further added value".

  • Author: Friends of the Presidency
  • Document Number: 11471/10
  • Document Date: Thu, June 24, 2010
  • File: Download File
Council, 23 June 2010: NOTE from General Secretariat to: Permanent Representatives Committee/Council: Outcome of the European Parliament's first reading (Strasbourg, 14 to 17 June 2010)

Council report on the EP plenary vote on a proposed amended version of the Directive, the text of which was based on a LIBE Committee report. This in turn was based on "informal contacts" between the Council, Parliament and Commission.

  • Author: General Secretariat of the Council
  • Document Number: 10984/10
  • Document Date: Wed, June 23, 2010
  • File: Download File
Parliament, 16 June 2010: Legislative resolution

"As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act".

  • Author: European Parliament
  • Document Number: P7_TA(2010)0220
  • Document Date: Wed, October 06, 2010
  • File: Download File
Parliament, 10 June 2010: LIBE Committee: Report on the draft directive

The LIBE Committee proposes a number of amendments to the legislation which were agreed during the "informal contacts" referred to in document 10984/10. The report was adopted with 38 MEPs in favour and 1 against.

  • Author: European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
  • Document Number: A7-0198/2010
  • Document Date: Thu, June 10, 2010
  • File: Download File
Council, 31 May 2010: Information by the Presidency on negotiations with the European Parliament and the Commission

Update on the "state of play" on inter-institutional negotiations: moving towards agreement and adoption.

  • Author: Presidency
  • Document Number: 10420/10
  • Document Date: Mon, May 31, 2010
  • File: Download File
Council, 19 May 2010: REPORT from: Presidency to: COREPER: Outcome of negotiations with the European Parliament and the Commission

"At the trilogue on 17/18 May 2010, the Presidency reached a provisional agreement with the European Parliament and the Commission on the text of the draft Directive".

  • Author: Presidency
  • Document Number: 10013/10
  • Document Date: Wed, May 19, 2010
  • File: Download File
Council, 14 April 2010: REPORT from: Presidency to: COREPER: Preparation of the first trilogue with the European Parliament and Commission

Contains a comparative table setting out the texts of Member States' original initiative, the LIBE Committee's amendments, the Commission proposal, and "a draft Council position established by the Friends of the Presidency in respect of these amendments.

  • Author: Presidency
  • Document Number: 8358/10
  • Document Date: Wed, April 14, 2010
  • File: Download File
Previous Entries »

JUSTICIA European Rights Network

Supported by the Criminal Justice Programme of the European Union. The contents of this website are the sole responsibility of the JUSTICIA European Rights Network and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Commission.