Effective Protection of the Rights of the Accused in the EU Directives. A Computable Approach to Criminal Procedure Law

the book critically examines the procedural safeguards of the suspect and the accused as recognised by the six EU Procedural Rights Directives. All these Directives are analyzed both as such and in their practical implementation at the national level. In particular, the volume illustrates the main lacunas in the protection of defence rights in nine EU jurisdictions (Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands). The discussion is carried out with a multi- disciplinary approach, that integrates criminal law and legal informatics analysis. The volume thus proposes an innovative perspective on the topic for a twofold reason. First, the analysis of the shortcomings and obstacles that procedural rights of the Directives meet in their national implementation is carried out through the lenses of legal reasoning and legal informatics. The research adopted a comprehensive approach, consisting in the translation of the EU Procedural Directives, as well as samples of national legislation, into a computable language. This approach allows, through the development of a semi- automated AI platform, to better highlight uncovered deficits of the normative texts, and to enhance comparative analysis among the legal systems. Secondly, the book proposes a multi- level perspective, since the legal analysis, carried out by highly specialised scholars, tackles both EU law and national legislation, as well as caselaw. Therefore, also the practical implementation of procedural rights will be dealt with in the volume.