Defence Hotline in Austria - more protection for suspects?

• In Event: POLWG Panel 28. Innovating Criminal Justice? AI and cultural sensitivity training for Interviews, Suspect Rights, and Intelligence-led policing

Abstract

The first 48 hours after the arrest of a suspect are particularly relevant for the further proceedings and also for the outcome of the case. For this reason, the so called “defense hotline” was installed in Austria in 2008, partly as a result of the Pre-trial Emergency Defence (PED) research project. The suspect can contact a defense lawyer day and night for an initial consultation before the interrogation of the police starts. The call and the first telephone consultation are free of charge. This approach should protect the suspect. According to European Law, Directive 2013/48/EU on the right of access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings, the service was also implemented into the Criminal Procedure Act in 2016. The service in Austria will be evaluated and compared to defense hotlines in other countries. The results will be presented and best practices discussed.

Authors

• Rale Balli, Sigmund Freud Private University Vienna

• Karin Bruckmüller, Sigmund Freud Private University