NATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK CONCERNING THE APPLICATION OF CROSS-BORDER INSTRUMENTS TO PERSONS WITH INTELLECTUAL AND/OR PSYCHOSOCIAL DISABILITIES IN LAW AND PRACTICE 19 „As far as I know, there is not some sort of formalised procedure on how to assess and ascertain it. <…> In Lithuania, there is a system where an official who is in direct contact with the person assesses the needs and decides whether or not an interpreter is needed, and this also includes other special needs. <...> That system has flexibility, but at the same time it has a huge fundamental disadvantage because it depends entirely on the discretion and just common sense and humanity of the officer who is in contact with the suspect or the accused.”16 The right to a lawyer is expressly enshrined in Lithuanian law. First, the person is informed of the EAW, and informed of the right to a lawyer. If the person so requests, the Lithuanian authorities (the General Prosecutor's Office or the Vilnius District Court) contact relevant authorities in the other country. In this way, the person is given specific contacts that they can use. However, the situation in Lithuania, as the requesting state, is a little more complicated: „In Lithuania, such a right is provided for ‘on paper’ but it is a complicated situation, because in the document of the General 16 Quote from one of the semi-structured interviews.

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