The creation of the platform was a consequence of the 2016 changes in the Belgian Judicial Code which entrusts Bar Associations with the task of organising a system “to contact a lawyer in the fastest way possible, making use of modern means of communication”.65 Thus, the “Salduzweb” application was created- an online platform aimed at streamlining the search for a lawyer in police custody.66 In practice, the application is used by the police and investigative judges to find lawyers (both private and legal aid)67 for suspects or accused persons who are deprived of liberty. Lawyers who wish to appear on the application must register on the website and choose the time that they will be on duty by selecting one or more 4-hour time slots, preferred areas of law and practice, and the police zones they want to be assigned to.68 If the person asks to be assisted by a lawyer and does not know one, the police file a request via the web application. Instantly, a text is randomly sent to a duty lawyer with the assistance request and the location of the police station. The system is randomized, and the police have no power to decide which lawyer will be called. If the lawyer accepts the mission, they become unavailable in the system. If the first proposed lawyer is not available, the system automatically sends a text to next one in line. If no lawyer can be found through the application, an emergency number at the legal aid office level can always be called.69 If the person waives the right to a be assisted by a lawyer, the waiver is recorded in writing and signed. In principle, the waiver is also recorded on the application. Children however cannot waive their right to assistance. The appointed lawyer has two hours to arrive at the police station and carry out the confidential consultation. The person may also ask for the private consultation to be held over the phone. After the phone or in person consultation, suspects or accused persons may still decide to waive their right to a lawyer during the questioning. If a lawyer does not come after two hours, adult suspects or accused persons are put in contact with the duty-scheme staff for a free consultation, and only after that the police can start interviewing them without the assistance of a lawyer. In addition, the platform could be an effective tool for data collection.72 It enables the steps taken by the police to find a lawyer to be tracked. Before starting a questioning, the police must fill out some information: date, police zone, age, gender, nationality and language of the person, if the person wants to be assisted by a lawyer for the confidential consultation and/or during the questioning, and if an interpreter was called. Although it was reported that it is not always the case in practice, 73 the application must be used even when the person waives the right to a lawyer. Data can thus be extracted for the proportion of cases where persons requested to be assisted by a lawyer or waived their right. It could also show the geographical areas where the assistance rate is lower and evaluate the assistance rates with regard to gender, age, nationality and language. All this information could be crossed-referenced and analysed, making the system a tool to evaluate the implementation of the right of access to a lawyer.74 Both the police and lawyers can also report incidents that happened during the questioning through the system. This has the potential to ensure oversight both of police work and on the quality of legal assistance, as the information collected in the system can be reported to Bar Associations. By randomly selecting and automatically contacting a lawyer, the application removes the burden from the police to serve as the contact provider. It avoids differential treatment of suspects or accused persons and ensures that only those lawyers who are competent in criminal law and who are willing to provide assistance will be called. It also allows for data collection on access to a lawyer. The web application, which has many advantages, could be easily replicated in other jurisdictions where suspects or accused persons experience difficulties to find a lawyer when in custody, and especially when arrested for the first time. Despite the challenges and risks that go with the implementation of the Salduzweb system - for example inconsistent use by the police and sometimes inefficient legal assistance - it allows every suspect or accused person who wishes to be assisted to be put in contact with a lawyer. The Salduzweb platform was evaluated by the Belgian Ministry of Justice as an innovative and successful system for finding a lawyer.70 One year after the system was put in place, a lawyer was found immediately in 93% of cases in Flanders and in 65% in French and German speaking Belgium.71 Today, as a result of the extensive use of the platform, combined with the existence of the emergency number, a lawyer is found in almost all cases. The application’s managers are continually trying to improve it by adding or modifying functionalities, meaning that a number of problems reported are gradually being resolved. A working group of criminal justice actors using the platform yearly meet with the platform operators and collaborate to improve its functioning and design. 65. Belgian Judicial Code, Art 495 (3). 66. Belgian Ministry of Justice, Salduz+ law evaluation report, 2017-2018, p.40, available in French at: http://www.dsbspc.be/doc/pdf/Rapport-Salduz-qualitatif_FR.pdf. 67. Legal aid lawyers however must go through a specific training before they can assist persons in police custody. 68. O. Nederlandt, D. Vandermeersch, Deux ans après la loi ‘Salduz’, op.cit, p.28. 69. Belgian Ministry of Justice, Salduz law evaluation report, 2013, p.9. 70. ibid 71. Answer to a parliamentary question directed to the Minister of Justice, CRABV 54 COM 127 25 March 2015. The wide disparity between these two numbers has not been explained and is likely due to different analysis of the data in the north and south of the country, and not to such a massive variation in practice. 20 72. Belgian Ministry of Justice, Salduz law evaluation report, op.cit., p.9. 73. Belgian Ministry of Justice, Salduz law evaluation report, op.cit., p.126. 74. Belgian Ministry of Justice, Salduz law evaluation report, op.cit., p.9. 21