§ Viscount Simonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What inquiries have been undertaken to ensure that United Kingdom driving licence holders, accused of committing serious motoring offences in other European Union member states, will have access to an English-speaking lawyer, have the court proceedings translated into English, and be allowed to take part fully in the proceedings. [HL4275]
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean)All European Union states are signatories to the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. This provides for the free78WA assistance of an interpreter if a defendant cannot understand the language of the court. A defendant also has the right to choose his own legal representative, unless provided with free representation by the state.
Where consular staff become aware that these rights are being denied to a British national, we will consider taking appropriate action. All diplomatic posts maintain a list of local English-speaking lawyers, which is made available to British nationals facing court proceedings.
The proposed Framework Decision on Procedural Rights in EU Criminal Proceedings sets out minimum standards relating to these rights. Sub-Committee E (Law and Institutions) of the House of Lords Select Committee on the European Union is conducting an inquiry into the proposed framework decision. We will take the views of the sub-committee into account, in finalising our negotiating stance.