Præmis 23 til præmis 26 i:

Report

to the Estonian Government

on the visit to Estonia

carried out by the European Committee

for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman

or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)

from 9 to 18 May 2007





23. The right of a criminal suspect to have prompt access to a lawyer is embodied in the

Estonian Constitution13 and the CCP14. The relevant legal provisions also provide for the right of a

criminal suspect to be interrogated in the presence of a lawyer and to confer with a lawyer in

private; if necessary, interrogation may be postponed in order to ensure the presence of a lawyer.

Further, in certain circumstances, the presence of a lawyer is mandatory, especially when the person

concerned is a minor or mentally disabled.

As far as the delegation could ascertain, in practice, criminal suspects were generally able to

contact a lawyer without delay and to have a lawyer present during police questioning. However,

there were some exceptions to this favourable situation. The CPT recommends that the Estonian

authorities recall to all police officers the legal obligation to grant access to a lawyer from the

very outset of a person’s deprivation of liberty.

 

24. It should be added that, in several of the police establishments visited, the recording in the

“Protocol of Detention” of the exercise of the right to have access to a lawyer left much to be

desired. As was the case with the right of notification, the relevant entries were frequently not filled

in. Reference is made to the comment in paragraph 20, which applies mutatis mutandis in this

context.



25. Since the visit carried out in 2003, a certain number of positive developments concerning

legal aid have occurred. In particular, the Code of Criminal Procedure  now explicitly provides for

the right to receive state legal aid from the moment of one’s arrest, and the State Legal Aid Act

came into force on 1 March 2005.

The CPT would like to receive detailed information on the practical arrangements

made to ensure the effectiveness of the legal aid system (e.g. to ensure that ex officio lawyers

are contacted and meet their clients as from the initial stage of police custody).

 

26. Persons who are apprehended by the police on suspicion of having committed a

misdemeanour are generally granted the same rights as criminal suspects16.

However, in the case of minors, the presence of a lawyer is only mandatory in court

proceedings, but not during any questioning by the police during police custody17. In this

connection, the CPT must stress that the point of special provisions for minors is to protect this age

group and provide them with adult support so that they do not have to make decisions with

important legal implications on their own. If the onus is placed on the minor to request the presence

of a lawyer or a trusted person during any questioning by the police, this defeats the object; such a

presence should be obligatory. The Committee recommends that the Estonian authorities take

steps to ensure compliance with this requirement.