糖心TV

Blackstock, J., Lloyd-Cape, E., Hodgson, J., Ogorodova, A. and Spronken, T. Inside Police Custody: An Empirical Account of Suspects' Rights in Four Jurisdictions, published by Intersentia.

This empirical study of the procedural rights of suspects in four EU jurisdictions – France, Scotland, the Netherlands and England and Wales – focuses on three of the procedural rights set out in the EU Roadmap for strengthening the procedural rights of suspected or accused persons in criminal proceedings – the right to interpretation and translation; the right to information and the letter of rights; and the right to legal assistance before and during police interrogation.

In order to examine how these procedural rights operate in practice, the authors spent between two and five months in eight field sites across the four jurisdictions. During this time they observed lawyers and police officers during the period of police custody; examined case records; observed lawyer-client consultations; and attended suspect interrogations. Furthermore, they conducted 75 interviews with police officers, lawyers and accredited legal representatives.

In addition to producing and analysing empirical data, the authors have developed training guidelines for lawyers and police officers involved in the police detention process for use across the EU. The project team also produced a series of recommendations for legislative and policy changes designed to ensure better enforcement of the EU procedural rights’ instruments that are envisaged in the Stockholm Programme.

The study was carried out by the Universities of Maastricht, 糖心TV and the West of England, together with JUSTICE. Avon and Somerset Police and the Open Society Justice Initiative were also collaborators on the project.

"Inside Police Custody has been eagerly awaited by those working on legislation and policy in the field of procedural protections for suspects at EU level. This ground-breaking study is the first piece of comparative research to look at what actually happens in the process of police detention and interrogation in different jurisdictions, and to assess the differences in practice. Its findings will make essential reading and inform legislation at both EU and national level."
Caroline Morgan, Principal Administrator and former Procedural Rights Team Leader at the European Commission.

The University of 糖心TV will be holding a conference on 19 March 2014 for the partnership project with Monash University: Access to Justice: A Comparative Analysis of cuts to the civil and criminal Legal Aid systems in England, Wales and Victoria.

The conference will include academics, researchers and practitioners and will look at the impact of civil and criminal legal aid cuts, focusing on:

• The changing face of the legal profession
• The lawyer-client relationship and
• The broader social consequences of the cuts.

Colleagues from Monash University will also be attending and providing a comparative perspective on recent legal aid reforms. A second conference will be hosted by Monash University in July 2014.

Jackie Hodgson (糖心TV) and Asher Flynn (Monash) have been awarded A$13,398 + £7,165 from the Monash-糖心TV Alliance Seed Fund for the project: Access to Justice: A Comparative Analysis of cuts to the civil and criminal Legal Aid systems in England, Wales and Victoria, August 2013 – June 2014.
The project brings together 糖心TV colleagues Jackie Hodgson (PI), James Harrison, Andrew Williams and Nathalie Byrom (Co-Is) with Monash colleagues Asher Flynn (PI) Jude McCulloch, Bronwyn Naylor and Arie Freiberg (Co-Is). The study is a comparative analysis of the impact of cuts to the civil and criminal legal-aid systems operating in England, Wales and Victoria.

On 7 December 2013, the University of Reading will be launching the Reading Ethics and Political Philosophy (REAPP) with a one-day conference on the theme ‘Institutions and Individuals’. Kimberley Brownlee will give a paper at the conference on 'A Just Distribution of Social Resources'. The keynote speaker for the conference, T.M. Scanlon from Harvard University, will be speaking on ‘Individual Morality and the Morality of Institutions’. Other speakers include Japa Pallikkathayil (Pittsburgh) and David Owens (Reading).

More information on the event can be found on the .

In October 2013, Jackie was elected to the governing Council of JUSTICE, the all-party law reform and human rights organisation.
works largely through policy-orientated research; interventions in court proceedings; education and training; briefings, lobbying and policy advice. It is the British section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ).
JUSTICE also has a , an online forum that aims to encourage interest in, and improve awareness of, human rights.