Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Brussels Proposes US-Style 'Miranda rights'

Check out this EurActiv article on the possibility of US-style 'Miranda rights' protocol from Brussels, which may mandate that EU police officers act "like US cops seen in many Hollywood films," to borrow the article's somewhat awkward phrase. The proposal could be referred to colloquially as the 'Reding Warning' after its chief architect, Vice-President of the European Commission, Viviane Reding (see Reding's own official statement on the bill.)

Inherent issues for this proposal: whether the oral declaration of rights will ensure that suspects understand them -- especially given the possible language difficulties for EU citizens traveling abroad in the Eurozone -- and whether the idea faces the threat of being "watered down" by European national governments.

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