21 juin 2024
Suspects, defendants, and accused individuals who do not understand the language of the criminal procedure will henceforth systematically receive a translation of the essential documents of the procedure. They will not need to request this service.
To this end, the federal legislature is amending the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Law on Pre-trial Detention. This is a new transposition of the obligations concerning the right to translation and the right to access a lawyer within the framework of criminal procedures as stipulated in the European Directive on interpretation (Directive 2010/64) and the European Directive on the right to access a lawyer in criminal procedures (Directive 2013/48).
Right to Translation and Right to a Lawyer
The European Directive on interpretation (2010/64) provides that suspects and defendants have the right to a translation of all essential procedural documents without the need for a request by the concerned person and without this request being subject to national law procedures. However, in Belgium, this right seems insufficiently guaranteed. Indeed, according to the current rules, suspects and defendants must request a translation. Therefore, our country has been reprimanded by Europe for the incomplete transposition of the provisions of the Directive on interpretation.
The federal legislature is thus making the necessary amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Law on Pre-trial Detention. Henceforth, suspects, defendants, and accused individuals will no longer have to request a translation, but will systematically receive one.
The defendant who does not understand the language of the procedure will now receive - within a reasonable time - a written translation of the relevant passages of the summons and notification, and a written or oral translation of the relevant passages of the judgment. This will be in a language he understands and has chosen before the first hearing. For example, defendants who do not understand the language of the procedure will receive a written translation, among other things, of the relevant passages of the indictment. Suspects who do not understand the language of the procedure are entitled, among other things, to a written or oral translation of the relevant passages of the arrest warrant.
From now on, the Law on Pre-trial Detention also explicitly provides that before his first interrogation, the suspect must be interrogated in the language in which he wishes to be assisted by an interpreter for the remainder of the procedure. He must be expressly informed that he has the right to the translation of the relevant passages of the arrest warrant, the European arrest warrant, the summons to appear, and the court order.
The "declaration of rights templates" have been updated to reflect the changes. The new templates are annexed to the Royal Decree of 16 May 2024. The annexes replace the existing templates in the Royal Decree on the Declaration of Rights (first criminal investigation hearing) of 23 November 2016.
Right to Access a Lawyer
The federal legislature is also continuing the transposition of the European Directive on the right to access a lawyer in criminal procedures (Directive 2013/48). Thus, Article 47bis of the Code of Criminal Procedure has been rewritten. The text now more explicitly provides that the interrogation of a minor can only take place after a confidential interview between the minor and a lawyer (in a police station or by telephone). The hearing of a minor can only take place in the presence of a lawyer. The provision allowing an interrogation to begin before the lawyer is present has been removed.
The legislature is also amending the provisions relating to access to a lawyer in the Law on Pre-trial Detention. Here again, the law explicitly states that an interrogation cannot begin without the effective assistance of a lawyer. However, the prosecutor or the investigating judge ordered may exceptionally and temporarily deviate from this requirement, by a reasoned decision, if the geographical distance of the suspect does not allow for the guarantee of the right to access a lawyer immediately after deprivation of liberty and if the exercise of these rights cannot be accomplished by radio, telephone, audiovisual, or other technical means.
Entry into Force: 27 June 2024
Source: 25 APRIL 2024 - Law continuing the transposition of Directive 2010/64/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010 on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings, Directive 2012/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2012 on the right to information in criminal proceedings, and Directive 2013/48/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2013 on the right of access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings and the right to inform a third party upon deprivation of liberty and to communicate with third parties and consular authorities while in custody, Belgian Official Gazette 17 June 2024, p. 75507.
Source: 16 MAY 2024 - Royal Decree replacing the annexes to the Royal Decree of 23 November 2016 implementing Article 47bis, §5, of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Belgian Official Gazette 17 June 2024, p. 75511.