In 2013 the European Commission and the European Parliament enacted Directive 2013/48/EU. The provisions concern the right of access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings and in European Arrest Warrant proceedings. They also regulate the right to inform a third party of the deprivation of liberty, as well as the right to communicate with third parties and consular authorities while deprived of liberty.

The deadline for Member States to bring their national laws in line with the Directive passed on 27 November 2016. In July 2021 the EC sent an official letter to Poland urging it to fully transpose the Directive.

The Directive requires state officers detaining minors under the age of 17 to inform an appropriate adult of the deprivation of liberty and the reasons for it. After examining Poland's response to the letter, the Commission concluded that the degree of implementation of the Directive was still not satisfactory.

In February 2023 the EC sent Poland a reasoned opinion. It disagreed with Poland's assessment that certain legislations concerning juveniles under the age of 17 (the Act of 9 June 2022 on the support and social rehabilitation of minors) are not criminal proceedings. It is in this Act that the provisions of the Directive have not been implemented.

On 16 November 2023, an official press release concerning the issue appeared on the Commission's website.

"Since this case concerns the failure to communicate transposition measures of a legislative directive, the Commission will ask the Court of Justice of the European Union to impose financial sanctions on Poland," the article reads.

Source: ec.europa.eu