Those arrested and questioned get faster and more efficient access to lawyer
The new and improved version Salduz-web strengthens cooperation between the police, the judiciary and the legal profession and ensures a more efficient and user-friendly organisation of legal assistance during interrogations. Thanks to technical improvements, every suspect gets faster access to a lawyer, which improves legal certainty.
The optimisations to Salduz-web are more in line with the daily practice of lawyers, the judiciary and police. More efficient operation leads to better service and greater legal certainty.
What is Salduz?
The Salduz system has its origins in a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Salduz v Turkey (2008). In this case, the ECtHR ruled that every suspect has the right to the assistance of a lawyer from the first police interrogation. That principle was later enshrined in the European Directive 2013/48/EU on the right of access to a lawyer.
Belgium translated this ruling into the Salduz Act, which was introduced in 2011 and has since been amended several times. The law stipulates that suspects in criminal cases are entitled to legal assistance before and during interrogation. This is regulated through the Salduz web, a digital system that supports police and lawyers in organising this assistance.
Salduz-web has been an essential tool within criminal justice for years, guaranteeing that suspects can receive assistance from a lawyer during their interrogation. Advocaat.be has been the pioneer of this application since 2012 and shows European progressiveness with this update. The recent improvements ensure faster and clearer processing of files and offer improved functionalities for police, court and lawyers alike. For example, lawyers can more easily indicate their availability, which means suspects do not have to wait unnecessarily and are assigned a lawyer faster. The system aims to assign a lawyer to each file within 10 minutes, thanks to various efficiency-enhancing measures to ensure this.
Prompt and effective legal aid is a cornerstone of the rule of law. Everyone has the right to a fair trial and access to a lawyer is essential in this respect. Thanks to these improvements, this right will be even better guaranteed.
The improved version of Salduz-web works nationwide and is the result of close cooperation with various partners within the judicial landscape, including FPS Justice, the police, Customs & Excise, the judiciary and DPA. Their involvement has contributed to a more efficient alignment of processes, so that legal aid in interrogation is even better in practice.
This revamp of the Salduz web marks an important step in improving legal aid in interrogation, with the ultimate goal of faster and fairer justice for all.
Het vernieuwde Salduzweb is een belangrijke stap richting een snellere, efficiëntere en modernere justitie. Digitalisering is een essentiële hefboom om procedures te versnellen en justitie toegankelijker te maken. Dit systeem toont hoe technologie en samenwerking tussen alle actoren binnen justitie kunnen leiden tot concrete vooruitgang. Met het vernieuwde Salduzweb zetten we een grote stap voorwaarts, en de komende jaren zullen deze ingeslagen weg verder blijven begaan: samen blijven we bouwen aan een justitieapparaat dat vlotter werkt, de rechten van burgers versterkt en onze rechtstaat moderniseert.
Met deze vernieuwing van het Salduzweb wordt een belangrijke stap gezet in de verbetering van de rechtsbijstand bij verhoor, met als ultiem doel een snellere en eerlijkere justitie voor iedereen.
How does Salduzweb work?
Salduz-web ensures that suspects have timely access to a lawyer and that the procedure is conducted correctly. This is done in several steps:
- Registration of the suspect
- When someone is arrested and has to undergo interrogation, the police register it in the Salduz-web.
- The suspect is informed of his/her right to legal representation.
- Assignment of a lawyer
- The suspect can choose his own lawyer or have a lawyer appointed through Salduz-web. Minors and people with lower incomes can use this free of charge.
- The lawyer receives a notification of the case through Salduz-web, accepts or rejects it. The system keeps searching until a lawyer accepts and confirms availability.
- Consultation
Before the interrogation starts, the suspect is entitled to a confidential consultation with his lawyer. That conversation takes place physically. In exceptional cases, it takes place via telephone or video conference. - Assistance during interrogation
- The lawyer may be present during the interrogation and has the right to intervene when the suspect's rights are compromised.
- The lawyer may not conduct an active defence, but may intervene, for example, if questions are illegal or if the suspect becomes confused.
- File management in Salduz-web
All parties involved (police, court and lawyers) can consult the necessary information about the interrogation and assistance in the system.
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