Project description
Authors
The Factsheet was developed in the framework of the EU Project ´From law to practice: Strengthening
procedural rights in police custody (ProRPC)’ implemented by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties
(Ireland), in cooperation with the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights
(LBI GMR, Austria), APADOR-CH (Romania), Fair Trials Europe (Belgium), and Rights International
Spain (Spain).
It was written by Sarah O’Malley and Elizabeth Carthy. The chapter on the regional challenges draws
heavily on work of Fair Trials Europe, who conducted in depth regional research in the framework
of this Project.
The Factsheet is intended for all criminal justice actors and advocates who are interested in reforming
their national system. The research on the promising practices focused especially on the practices of
four EU Member States: Austria, Ireland, Spain, and Romania. Additional practices and examples
from other EU Member States were gathered via regional consultations as well as the regional research
conducted by Fair Trials Europe.
As each practice came about in a specific national context, in order to successfully replicate them, it
will always be important to tailor them to the national contexts, dynamics and cultures. Yet we hope
that disseminating information on the reform processes occurred in other countries can offer useful
inspiration to strengthen procedural rights and overcome existing barriers.
Other factsheets of the series cover the areas of access to a lawyer, legal aid, and access to information.
The factsheets should be read in combination with the final report that provides insights into HOW
the envisaged change can be achieved.
Acknowledgements
The Project team would like to thank all criminal justice actors, experts, policymakers, practitioners,
decision-makers, as well as all the representatives of civil society who participated in the roundtables
and consultations of this Project for their commitment and engagement.
Our most sincere gratitude goes also to the four members of the External Advisory Board: Marine
Braun, Ed Lloyd-Cape, Ivar Fahsing, and Gwen Jansen, for their invaluable feedback and advice. We
would also like to thank Moritz Birk, Walter Suntinger and Helmut Sax, who have provided precious
inputs and comments.
Information about the Project and Factsheet
The Factsheet highlights the relevance of audio-visual recording during the criminal investigation
phase. It reflects on identified challenges and discusses promising practices. The goal is to respond to
the question WHAT can be done to strengthen procedural rights. To this end, the Factsheet unpacks
the key elements of the promising practices and attempts to identify lessons learnt. Thereby, the
Factsheet not only describes the promising practices, but also investigates three main questions:
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What are the main benefits of the promising practices?
How did the promising practices come about? (e.g. What triggered their implementation?
What were the challenges faced beforehand?)
What are the remaining challenges in the implementation of the promising practices?
KOSOVO
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