Fair Trials’ Post

Can the right to counsel be considered an optional Right within the European legal framework, to the extent that a European Arrest Warrant may be executed based on a national conviction issued in the absence of any legal counsel for the accused? In Italy, the right to defense is inviolable, as explicitly guaranteed by constitutional provisions, and one can only hope that harmonization efforts across Europe aim to enhance the rights of all European citizens. This matter will be discussed today before the Supreme Court of Cassation, with the support of amici curiae European Criminal Bar Association and Fair Trials.