Arrested abroad in Europe: the first 96 hours
Criminal procedure is not harmonised in Europe: how long you can be held, whether bail exists and when you see a judge differ from one country to another. Four things do not. EU directives guarantee, in every member state, written information about your rights, access to a lawyer, free interpretation and translation, and the right to have someone informed of your arrest.
What is guaranteed everywhere
| Right | Content | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Letter of Rights | Written information, in a language you understand | Directive 2012/13/EU |
| Access to a lawyer | Before questioning, and confidentially | Directive 2013/48/EU |
| Interpretation and translation | Free, including of essential documents | Directive 2010/64/EU |
| Third party informed | A relative or your consulate told of the arrest | Directive 2013/48/EU |
| Presumption of innocence | Including the right to be present at trial | Directive 2016/343/EU |
| Legal aid | Where the conditions of national law are met | Directive 2016/1919/EU |
These are not aspirations. They are directives transposed into national law, and a breach is an argument in the national proceedings. The Letter of Rights in particular must be handed over in writing and you are entitled to keep it — if it was not, say so and have it recorded.
What changes from country to country
Almost everything else, and the differences are larger than people expect.
- How long the police can hold you before a judge sees you, and what that period is called locally.
- Whether bail exists. It does in some systems and not in others: in Italy it does not exist at all.
- Whether the lawyer may speak during questioning or only be present.
- How pre-trial detention is decided, by which judge, and for how long it can be renewed.
- Whether an early resolution exists and what it costs in terms of admissions.
- Whether nationals are treated differently for the purposes of detention and later surrender.
This is why the single most useful thing in the first hours is not legal argument. It is knowing which of these applies where you are, and that is knowledge held locally.
The consulate: real help, narrow scope
Consular assistance can verify conditions of detention, maintain contact with the family, help with documents and funds, and supply a list of local lawyers. It does not take on the defence, does not select the lawyer and does not pay fees.
Two weeks are routinely lost waiting for the consulate to resolve something outside its powers, and those are the two weeks in which the detention hearing and the first appeal deadline fall.
What to do, in order
- Give your identity. Refusing is a separate offence in most systems.
- Ask for a lawyer, in writing if possible, and say nothing about the facts until you have spoken to one.
- Ask for an interpreter and do not sign anything you have not understood.
- Ask that a named relative be informed, and give the number.
- Keep the Letter of Rights and any paper handed to you.
- Note the date and hour of the arrest. Every deadline runs from it.
Why you may need two lawyers
Before a foreign court, only a lawyer qualified there can act. That is not a formality: they file the applications, attend the hearings and speak to the judge.
What a foreign court cannot do is see the whole picture — the parallel Italian proceedings, the surrender procedure, the effect on a case at home, the family who need to understand what is happening in a language they speak. That is the second role, and it is described in how a correspondent case is run.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have the same rights everywhere in the EU?
Not the same procedure, but the same four core rights: written information, access to a lawyer, free interpretation and translation, and having a third party informed of your arrest.
Will the embassy get me out?
No. Consular assistance checks conditions of detention and maintains contact, but does not conduct the defence, choose your lawyer or pay legal fees.
Is there bail in every European country?
No. Systems differ widely and in some, including Italy, bail as understood in common law does not exist at all.
Do I need a lawyer in the country where I was arrested?
Yes. Only a locally qualified lawyer can act before that court. A lawyer elsewhere can coordinate, but cannot appear.
If it is happening now
With the country, the city and the authority handling the case, something can be moved within hours. First contact is free and covered by professional privilege, at any hour.