The international research project focuses on the use of trial waiver systems in the EU Member States, through which suspected or accused persons waive their rights to a full criminal trial. In Hungary, it focuses on the agreement between the prosecution and the defence as introduced in 2018. The project’s objectives are to 1) ensure that the EU’s Directives on the procedural rights of defendants are effectively implemented during trial waiver negotiations and proceedings whenever they are in use in the EU; and 2) to prevent the spread of trial waiver systems from fundamentally undermining the positive progress that the EU has brought about in criminal justice in Europe thanks to EU Directives on the procedural rights of defendants. The project is coordinated by Fair Trials. Project activities include research, the development of domestic practice guides, a comparative report, and producing a short film on individual cases.     The project is funded by the European Union’s Justice Programme (2014-2020). 

This post was originally published on Magyar Helsinki Bizottság.