Justice

Justice, victims’ rights and judicial cooperation

Your access to justice is a fundamental right. It is central to making your other rights a reality.

It protects rights of the individual. It puts right civil wrongs. It holds power to account. We shine a light on obstacles to access to justice. And we give evidence-based advice on overcoming them.

Highlights

  • Report / Paper / Summary
    21
    June
    2022
    Every child has a right to be protected even when they are accused or suspected of committing a crime. The basic principles of justice apply to adults and children alike. But children face specific obstacles during criminal proceedings, such as a lack of understandable information about their rights, limited legal support and poor treatment. The report looks at the practical implementation of Directive (EU) 2016/800 on procedural safeguards for children who are suspects or accused persons in criminal proceedings in nine Member States – Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Estonia, Italy, Malta, Poland and Portugal.
  • Handbook / Guide / Manual
    22
    June
    2016
    Access to justice is an important element of the rule of law. It enables individuals to protect themselves against infringements of their rights, to remedy civil wrongs, to hold executive power accountable and to defend themselves in criminal proceedings. This handbook summarises the key European legal principles in the area of access to justice, focusing on civil and criminal law.
  • Page
    The Criminal Detention Database 2015-2022 combines in one place information on detention conditions in all 27 EU Member States as well as the United Kingdom.
  • Report / Paper / Summary
    25
    June
    2019
    This report is the EU Fundamental Rights Agency’s fourth on the topic of severe labour exploitation. Based on interviews with 237 exploited workers, it paints a bleak picture of severe exploitation and abuse. The workers include both people who came to the EU, and EU nationals who moved to another EU country. They were active in diverse sectors, and their legal status also varied.
Products
18
November
2015
This report, drafted in response to the European Parliament’s call for thorough research on fundamental rights protection in the context of surveillance, maps and analyses the legal frameworks on surveillance in place in EU Member States.
18
November
2015
In April 2014, the European Parliament requested the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) “to undertake in–depth research on the protection of fundamental rights in the context
of surveillance”. This summary presents FRA’s main research findings, which are published in full in the report entitled Surveillance by intelligence services: fundamental rights safeguards and remedies in the EU – Mapping Member States’ legal frameworks.
Each year, an estimated 2.5 million children go through legal procedures. Two-thirds of children do not receive adequate information during proceedings. Their understanding of their rights and procedures is rarely checked. The behaviour of legal professionals affects to what degree children feel safe and comfortable. These videos provide practical guidelines about how to ensure justice is child-friendly.
Children should always be supported by a professional support person when they are involved in judicial proceedings, such as being at court. This could be, for example, a social worker or a legal counsellor.
Children should always be supported by a professional support person when they are involved in judicial proceedings, such as being at court. This could be, for example, a social worker or a legal counsellor.
During judicial proceedings, such as being at court, children should always be told what is going on. The information should be presented in a child-friendly and understandable way.
The freedom to conduct a business, one of the lesser-known rights of the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights, can help boost growth and jobs across the EU.
5
August
2015
This report seeks to demonstrate that the fulfilment of fundamental rights can help to improve the situation and achieve the strategic goals set out in the Europe 2020 growth strategy, which aims to establish a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy.
New strategic guidelines in the area of freedom, security and justice by the European Council placed increasing mutual trust, strengthening the protection of victims and reinforcing the rights of accused persons and suspects high on the EU policy agenda. Many EU Member States adopted new laws or reformed existing laws and policies in this area, while efforts continued at UN, Council of Europe and EU level to strengthen the rule of law, judicial independence and the efficiency of justice systems, as cornerstones of a democratic society.
2
June
2015
Worker exploitation is not an isolated or marginal phenomenon. But despite its pervasiveness in everyday life, severe labour exploitation and its adverse effects on third-country nationals and EU citizens - as workers, but also as consumers - have to date not received much attention from researchers.
5
May
2015
Making justice systems more child‑friendly improves
the protection of children, enhances their meaningful
participation and at the same time improves
the operation of justice. The findings in this summary
can provide Member States with useful tools
to identify barriers, gaps or weaknesses in their
judicial proceedings, especially in the process of
transposing and implementing relevant EU directives. Also available in BG - CS - DA - DE - EL - ES - ET - FI - FR - HR - HU - IT - LV - LT - MT - PL - PT - RO - SK - SK - SV
5
May
2015
Each year thousands of children take part in criminal and civil judicial proceedings, affected by parental divorce
or as victims or witnesses to crime. Such proceedings can be stressful for anyone. The European Union Agency
for Fundamental Rights (FRA) investigated whether children’s rights are respected in these proceedings.
Children need to be heard and be involved in all issues that concern them. This includes the justice system.
To mark the European Day for Victims of Crime on 22 February, FRA has created this infographic based on the the report: Victims of crime in the EU: the extent and nature of support for victims, published in January, 2015.
6
February
2015
This summary outlines the research findings of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) on support services for victims of crime across the EU from a fundamental rights perspective. It gives an overview of how current victim support service provision across the 28 EU Member States compares in practice with the objectives and goals for victim support set out by the Victims’ Directive. The focus is on the directive’s Articles 8 and 9 on support services, although other closely related provisions are also considered.
26
January
2015
FRA was requested by the European Commission (EC) in January 2014 to provide practical guidance on the processing of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data for law enforcement purposes, in light of efforts by Member States to establish national PNR systems. As a result, in informal consultation with EC services and the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) and building on opinions FRA, the EDPS and the Article 29 Working Party on PNR, FRA presented twelve fundamental rights considerations to EU Member States experts at technical level.
12
January
2015
The rights of victims of crime to access justice and to be protected against repeat victimisation may remain illusory in practice if the victim fails to receive professional advice and support. This research by the European Union Agency
for Fundamental Rights (FRA) examines support service provision for such victims across the 28 EU Member States, in line with the 2012 EU Victims’ Directive. It focuses not on abstract fundamental rights standards but on the final
practical results.
The European Union has always sought to boost innovation and entrepreneurship throughout the region. However, entrepreneurs often face long and complicated administrative procedures, time consuming reporting obligations, and difficulties in accessing credit. The freedom to conduct business, one of the lesser-known rights of the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights, is explored in detail with examples of how this right can also help boost growth and jobs, in this latest report of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA).
Record numbers of migrants died as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe in 2014. Member States should therefore consider offering more legal possibilities for people in need of international protection to enter the EU, as viable alternatives to risky irregular entry. This is one of the conclusions from this year’s Annual report which looks at developments across the EU in many areas over 2014.
Consumers are often unaware that the food they eat or the clothes they buy may have
been produced by people working under conditions of severe labour exploitation. A new
report by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) shows that while the EU has
legislation prohibiting certain forms of severe labour exploitation, workers moving within
or migrating to the EU are at risk of becoming victims.
Well-resourced, well-aimed victim support is vital to ensure that victims of crime have real access to justice for the suffering they have been caused and ensure their rights are respected. In the first comprehensive assessment of victim support services throughout the European Union, published today, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) notes that despite improvements, challenges remain in many Member States.
As EU ministers meet to discuss the future of the EU’s policies on freedom, security and justice, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) outlines practical suggestions in its Annual report about how to ensure people in the EU can have their rights better protected. It also maps out the fundamental rights challenges and achievements that took place over the course of 2013.
Budget cuts in the wake of the current economic crisis should not affect a person’s legal entitlement and right to access justice. This is the theme of the 2012 Fundamental Rights Conference, organised by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). Entitled ‘Justice in austerity - challenges and opportunities for access to justice’, the event is being held at the European Parliament in Brussels.
Hate crime is a daily reality throughout the European Union (EU), two new reports by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) confirm. Violence and offences motivated by racism, xenophobia, religious intolerance, or by a person’s disability, sexual orientation or gender identity are all examples of hate crime, which harm not only those targeted but also strike at the heart of EU commitments to democracy and the fundamental rights of equality and non-discrimination.
Fundamental rights: challenges and achievements in 2010, the flagship Annual Report of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), charts the progress made in 2010 by the European Union (EU) and its Member States towards securing the rights guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights through developments in legislation, policies and practices. The FRA Annual Report, presented at the European Parliament today, points to promising practices and obstacles to rights protection across a range of policy areas. Some of the major challenges in 2010 related to asylum, the Roma and data protection.
Today, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) is launching its report Access to justice in Europe: an overview of challenges and opportunities. The report will be launched in Budapest at the conference ‘Protecting victims in the EU: the road ahead', hosted by the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, with the support of the FRA. The report provides a comparative analysis of access to justice across the EU Member States and finds that there are many obstacles that make it difficult for victims to enforce their rights. This report relates mainly to civil and administrative procedures available to victims of discrimination. Although its focus is the area of non-discrimination law, its findings are generally applicable to civil and administrative procedures as a whole.
Protection mechanisms on paper do not yet fully function in practiceThe 2010 Annual Report of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) identifies challenges in the areas of data protection, extreme exploitation in the workplace, rights of the child, racism and discrimination, and LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) issues.
FRA will chair a panel discussion on access to remedies in practice that will look at what are the critical barriers and next steps to protecting migrants workers.
The FRA Director, Michael O’Flaherty, will speak during the plenary meeting of the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the EU (COSAC) in Helsinki on 2 December.
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On 18 and 19 November in Skopje, North Macedonia, the FRA Deputy Director Constantinos Manolopoulos will participate in the EU-Western Balkans Ministerial Forum on Justice and Home Affairs.
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FRA will take part in a stakeholder dialogue on encryption in criminal investigations.
FRA will speak at a working group on civic space during a conference in Brussels on 5 November on fundamental rights and the rule of law.
On 6 September in Brussels, FRA will present its work on criminal detention and the European Arrest Warrant during a meeting of the Working Party on Cooperation in Criminal Matters (COPEN).
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FRA and the French ‘Defender of Rights’ are jointly organising an international seminar on the challenges of relations between the police and the public as well as current practices.
The Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU has invited the Director to participate in discussions between ministers of justice at the informal Justice and Home Affairs meeting in Helsinki on 19 July.
As workers in the EU are still severely exploited, FRA is jointly organising a high-level conference 'From wrongs to rights - Ending severe labour exploitation' in Brussels on 25 June.
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From 27 to 28 May in Luxembourg, the agency will take part in the annual meeting of the Eurostat working group on crime and criminal justice statistics.
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The European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) and the agency will hold a joint seminar on applicability and effect of the EU Charter on Fundamental Rights in national proceedings.