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 Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of
Fundamental and Human Rights (LBI GMR, Austria), in cooperation with APADOR-CH (Romania),
Fair Trials Europe (Belgium), the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (Ireland), and Rights International
Spain (Spain) from December 2020 to March 2023. The Factsheet was published in February 2023.
The Factsheet was written by Nora Katona and Giuliana Monina of the LBI GMR. It was edited
by Hauke Benjes-Pitcz of the LBI GMR. The chapter on the regional challenges draws heavily on
the work of Fair Trials Europe, who conducted in depth regional research in the framework of this
Project.
Acknowledgements
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 audio-visual
recordings. The factsheets should be read in combination with the final report that provides insights
into HOW the envisaged change can be achieved.
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, Helmut Sax and Gautam Gulati, who have
provided precious inputs and comments.
Information about the Project and Factsheet
The Factsheet highlights the relevance of the right to information 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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