EU court rules Czech law breaches right to a lawyer during police questioning

The Czech Republic is breaching EU law by allowing criminal suspects to be questioned without a lawyer if their defence counsel fails to arrive within 48 hours of their arrest, the European Court of Justice ruled on Thursday, upholding a complaint brought by the European Commission.

The court found a similar breach in Hungary, where suspects can be questioned without a lawyer if their counsel fails to arrive within two hours of being notified of the arrest. Czech law sets the deadline at 48 hours after an arrest and also permits questioning if a lawyer is unavailable.

The court did not impose a fine on the Czech Republic. However, if the country fails to comply with the ruling, the European Commission can refer the case back to the court and propose financial penalties.

The Commission first raised concerns about the Czech legislation’s compliance with the relevant EU directive in 2021. The Justice Ministry rejected its objections at the time.