Commission Staff Working Document Implementation Plan accompanying the proposal for a Directive on procedural safeguards for children suspected or accused in criminal proceedings - Hoofdinhoud

COUNCIL OF

THE EUROPEAN UNION Brussels, 11 December 2013

17633/13

Interinstitutional File: ADD 3

2013/0408 (COD) i

DROIPEN 159 COPEN 236 CODEC 2930

COVER NOTE

from: Secretary-General of the European Commission,

signed by Mr Jordi AYET PUIGARNAU, Director date of receipt: 28 November 2013

to: Mr Uwe CORSEPIUS, Secretary-General of the Council of the European

Union

No Cion doc.: SWD(2013) 492 final

Subject: Commission Staff Working Document

Implementation Plan accompanying the proposal for a Directive on procedural safeguards for children suspected or accused in criminal proceedings

Delegations will find attached Commission document SWD(2013) 492 final.

________________________

Encl.: SWD(2013) 492 final

DG D 2B EN

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 27.11.2013 SWD(2013) 492 final

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT

Implementation Plan

Accompanying the document

Directive

on procedural safeguards for children suspected or accused in in criminal proceedings

{COM(2013) 822 final i} {SWD(2013) 480 final} {SWD(2013) 481 final}

EN EN

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT

Implementation Plan

Accompanying the document

Directive

on procedural safeguards for children suspected or accused in in criminal proceedings

Implementation Plan 1

1. Title of the document for the proposed act:

Implementation Plan for a Directive on procedural safeguards for children

suspected or accused in in criminal proceedings

2. Contact point: Ingrid Breit, DG JUSTICE, Unit B1

3. Deliverables and implementation challenges

This Directive creates a (certain) number of legal obligations upon Member States which arise at all stage of the criminal procedure, from police to the final decision, and which might be addressed in different parts of Member States legislation or criminal procedure. The implementation of this Directive will require the amendment of various branches of the national legal order in the Member States in criminal law. Most of its provisions will be transposed through amendments to the national codes on criminal procedure (e.g. mandatory access to a lawyer), others however require changes in different national laws and regulations and in administrative provisions (for example certain aspects of the individual assessment of children or concerning the conditions of their detention).

Besides the fact that detailed legal provisions should be envisaged by Member States for the implementation of the legal obligations resulting from the Directive, the implementation of the Directive should be accompanied by support actions in the Member States: (1) training of different actors in the criminal procedure (law enforcement and judicial authorities) to increase their awareness of the particular needs of children of different age groups and to enable them to deal with children in an impartial, respectful and professional manner; (2) a monitoring system should be put in place in the Member States in order to produce more comprehensive data about the size and the scope of problems relating to the breach of procedural safeguards for children in each jurisdiction, which would subsequently allow evaluating the need of possible subsequent action at national or EU level.

1 This Implementation Plan is provided for information purposes only. It does not legally bind the

Commission on whether the identified actions will be pursued or on the form in which they will be pursued.

Implementation challenge Support actions Timing

Besides legislative changes, (1) Training at national level During all the transposition a change is needed in the of the different actors in the period and beyond practice regarding procedural criminal procedure safeguards for children

(2) Setting up a monitoring To be prepared during the and evaluation mechanism transposition period and to at national level be operational at the latest on the deadline for transposition of the Directive

Moreover, the smooth implementation will be ensured by the following detailed implementation strategy, which aims at solving all possibly emerging challenges at the very beginning of the process. This approach has been followed for other Directives in the area of procedural rights in criminal proceedings (in particular in Directive 2012/29 i/EU establishing minimum standards on the rights and protection of victims of crime.

Implementation Strategy for a Directive on procedural safeguards for children suspected or

accused in criminal proceedings

The purpose of this document is to complement the document 'Implementation plan' by a detailed description of planned implementation strategy for a Directive on procedural safeguards for children suspected or accused in criminal proceedings. This model of implementation strategy has been used for the implementation of other Directives adopted so far in the area of procedural rights in criminal proceedings (Directive 2012/29 i/EU establishing minimum standards on the rights and protection of victims of crime.

Action to be taken Description Timeframe

Adoption of the Directive Implementation deadline: 24 months after OJ publication. OJ publication is the

Publication in the Official "starting point" in the

Journal implementation process (date "X")

Preparation of an explanatory The explanatory working paper will contain detailed explanations and To be completed by X + 3 working paper by COM with expectations linked to the content of every Article and the months interpretation of all Articles in corresponding Recitals, taking into account the medium/high level the Directive, including a options from the Impact Assessment and also taking into account the transposition checklist for MS negotiation process.

They will also address how the provisions of this Directive will link to the existing legal framework, notably the Charter (and ECHR) and the other Directives on procedural rights.

Letter to Member States Content: X + 3 months

• Invitation to experts’ meeting • Asking Member States for information on their calendars for implementation; • Transmission of draft explanatory working paper and a set of questions for which Commission will seek MS input at the meeting.

(First) Experts' meeting In addition to Member States, Commission will invite EP Rapporteur X + 5 months and professional organisations (e.g., ECBA and CCBE) to this meeting.

Objectives of the meeting:

• Discussion of priorities in terms of implementation; • Asking Member States for information on their calendars for implementation (tour de table); • Receive input with a view to the fine-tuning of the Commissions implementation strategy; • Discussion of the draft explanatory working paper.

Implementation workshops Workshops (frequency depending on available resources): COM will Starting from X + 6 months organise workshops with MS (inviting also NGOs, practitioners, and regularly until 6 months academics) in Brussels and/or at a regional basis (based on legal before transposition traditions, specific issues in the Directive, and the factual level of deadline

current implementation of the Directive's provisions).

Experts’ meeting (half way Objectives of the meeting: 1 year before transposition

through implementation) • Receiving information on the state of implementation in the deadline

Member States; • Steer implementation process.

Bilateral meetings To work directly with MS on their implementation of the Directive, COM Ad hoc, when and where should organise meetings with national relevant stakeholders necessary.

responsible for national implementation (e.g. Ministry of Justice, Interior, Police, Prosecution Office of the Government, Ministry of Social affairs, National Parliaments).

COM will also cooperate with stakeholders to help with the preparation explanatory working paper and with specific issues arising in the implementation work. It is envisaged that current contacts with main networks of practitioners, e.g. European Judicial Network (EJN) or organisations such as ECBA and CCBE, will become more systematic and strategic and informal meetings will be organised.

Final experts’ meeting A final experts’ meeting with all MS will be organised 6 months before 6 months before the transposition deadline to take stock of national implementation transposition deadline.

measures. This meeting will help COM to understand what types of measures have or will be taken by the MS and also to alert COM to focus on some MS or issues that may need particular attention during the last months of the implementation period.

Accompanying soft law COM supports a number of practical projects financed under JPEN. On-going

measures Identify upcoming needs and include as priorities in the calls for 2014,

2015 and 2016.

Actions will be continued under the new Justice Programme (MFF 2014 - 2020).

Notification of transposition An efficient and accessible system for receiving and examining MS measures notification of implementation measures needs to be put in place.

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