The issue was on the agenda after an admission from the Minister of the Interior of the Netherlands that the Dutch intelligence and security agency (AIVD) had been spying for years on Amsterdam-based law firm Prakken d’Oliveira. Further data has been obtained by the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) which found that communications between lawyers and their clients have been monitored over the last few years by police or intelligence services in similar cases in France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Czech Republic and Latvia.
Anti-democratic
In a plenary debate with the Presidency of the EU and the Commissioner for Justice, MEPs from across the political spectrum slammed the practice, saying it went against the right to a fair trial, the rule of law and democracy. Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova expressed her 'concern' and vowed to follow closely developments on this issue as well as the implementation of the 2013 Directive on the right of access to a lawyer(1), which guarantees the confidentiality of communications between an accused person and their lawyer.
MEPs demand action
MEPs asked for action to be taken by the EU, through investigations, sanctions and the adoption of legislation. The CCBE is backing their initiative, calling for a minimum level of legal protection afforded to professional secrecy from government electronic surveillance. The association says this could be included in the European Parliament project to establish 'A European Digital Habeas Corpus - protecting fundamental rights in a digital age'.
Widespread
'The extent and occurrence of this type of wiretapping shows that it is a widespread problem in need of a solution,' CCBE President Maria Slazak said. ‘National security cannot serve as an excuse to ignore the principle of lawyer-client confidentiality and deprive citizens of the right to legal counsel and to a fair trial. We hope that in time the European Court of Justice will be asked by a national court to define the meaning and extent of national security in this context, and whether it can ever provide a justification for the surveillance of the activities of lawyers.’ The CCBE represents the bars and law societies of 32 member countries and 13 further associate and observer countries, and through them more than 1 million European lawyers.
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