Yesterday, the Grand Chamber issued its judgment in the case of Salduz, about a 17 year-old boy who was questioned in a police station without having access to a lawyer and was subsequently convicted, mainly on his confession made at the police station. Contrary to the earlier judgment of a Chamber of the Court (2007), the Grand Chamber unanimously found a violation of Article 6(3-e), the right to legal assistance. The concurring opinions are very much worth reading. One of them argues for a reopening of the trial on the national level as the best way of achieving restitutio in integrum – and thus continues the debate on how precisely the Court should indicate what a state should do to remedy a violation of the Convention.
Access to Lawyer for Juvenile Delinquents
