The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted on 20 October 2010 the Directive on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings.

Around the world millions of people are locked up in pretrial detention because of corruption. Despite the prohibition of corruption under international law - as enshrined in the UN Convention against Corruption and other treaties and laws - criminal justice systems are often warped by bribery and other forms of corruption.

This proposal for a Council Framework Decision aims to set common minimum standards as regards certain procedural rights applying in criminal proceedings throughout the European Union.