Effective Defence Rights in Criminal Proceedings. A European and Comparative Study on judicial remedies

The European Union has adopted several Directives harmonising the rights of the suspects
and accused persons in criminal proceedings. The effectiveness of defence rights granted
by EU legal instruments does not simply rely on their correct implementation in national
law, but also depends on the existence of enforcement and control mechanisms granting
judicial protection to individuals. Although the Directives impose remedial obligations
on the Member States, the different structure and scope of judicial control under national
law is likely to undermine the justiciability of procedural safeguards granted by EU law.
Divergences among national criminal justice systems raise further challenges in the field
of cross-border cooperation.
In light of the recent case law of the European Courts, the present book explores the
scope and meaning of the right to effective judicial protection in criminal proceedings in
relation to the first three Directives of the Stockholm roadmap. It offers a comparative
analysis of the national implementations of these so-called ABC Directives in six Member
States, focusing on legal remedies that ensure the effectiveness of the rights granted by
the EU Directives. This volume presents the results of a study carried out by a group of
European criminal law experts from 2015 to 2017 thanks to the financial support of the
EU Commission.