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
Estonian Constitution 13 and the CCP14. The relevant legal provisions also provide for the right of acriminal 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 Estonianauthorities 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 thiscontext.
legal aid have occurred. In particular, the Code of Criminal Procedure now explicitly provides forthe 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 suspects 16.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 custody 17. In thisconnection, 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 takesteps to ensure compliance with this requirement. |