Legal Tools: Arrest Rights and the Right to Information

In order to help lawyers working on human rights issues, we are developing a series of “template briefs,” which offer the legal framework for litigation that seeks to bring domestic justice systems and practice in line with international legal standards.

This template focuses on access to information in Europe for people accused or suspected of crimes. It provides the current regional and international legal standards on the rights of suspects to obtain information during criminal proceedings, including the right to be informed of the reasons for arrest and the nature and cause of any accusation or charge; the right to be informed of defense rights; and the right to have access to the evidence on which the accusations are based.

The brief provides the current European and international legal standards, and we encourage lawyers to use the research and arguments in this brief to support domestic litigation.

The Justice Initiative has made every effort to ensure our information is accurate. However, this brief is provided for information purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice. The way you use this brief will depend on the details of your case, your client’s situation, and specificities of your domestic legal framework.

This brief is available in Spanish, Italian, Turkish, German, French, Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, and Hungarian. If you have any questions or feedback about the brief, would like a translated version of the brief in another language, or would like to keep the Justice Initiative informed about cases in your country that deal with access to legal assistance, please contact Marion Isobel at marion.isobel@opensocietyfoundations.org.