This is an important policy briefing event in Brussels, engaging key European policy-makers to improve legislation on suspects’ rights and increase the impact of research carried out in Warwick Law School by professor Jackie Hodgson. The EU is currently negotiating the terms of a number of directives designed to enhance the rights of suspects held in police custody for questioning, in particular the right to legal advice and assistance and the right to legal aid. Empirical research conducted by Professor Hodgson demonstrates the importance of linking training to public funding, in order to guarantee high quality advice delivered by experienced, trained and qualified staff. Otherwise, suspects are poorly served, credited by the courts with a benefit that they have in reality failed to receive. It is therefore vital that EU policy-makers are aware of Hodgson’s research in England and Wales and in other EU Member States, in order to ensure equal access to justice for all suspects regardless of their financial circumstances.

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