Inside Police Custody 2 Right to interpretation and translation • The European Commission should consider ways of encouraging and facilitating consideration within, and between, member states of appropriate guidance on workable mechanisms for assessing, and the relevant criteria for determining, the need for interpretation. • The European Commission should discuss, with both the relevant professional bodies and commercial providers, the question of making remote interpretation more available, especially for the purposes of conveying the information required at the early stages of detention, such as information about the reasons for arrest and detention, initial information about the suspected offence, and procedural rights. • The European Commission should: (a) discuss with member states that have not introduced a national registration system for interpreters and translators their plans for introducing such a scheme; (b) consider, together with the appropriate professional bodies, the competence requirements that should be applied to such schemes; and (c) encourage member states to adopt realistic rates of remuneration for interpreters and translators in order to comply with the quality requirements of Article 5(1) of the Directive on the right to interpretation and translation. • Given the difficulties in some countries of accessing competent interpreters, especially those who can interpret less frequently encountered languages, the European Commission should consider, together with the relevant professional bodies, what action can be taken to ensure the availability of such interpretation. • The European Commission should encourage the relevant authorities in member states to issue guidance on the meaning of ‘essential documents’ for the purposes of Article 3(1) of the Directive on the right to interpretation and translation (translation of documents). Right to information • The European Commission should enter into discussions with the relevant authorities of member states with a view to ensuring that: (a) the respective letters of rights are drafted in simple and accessible language, fully comply with the requirements of the Directive, and are available in a range of languages; (b) the law expressly provides for suspected and accused persons to be given an opportunity to read the letter of rights; (c) mechanisms are put in place to ascertain whether suspected and accused persons understand the rights of which they are notified, and the implications of waiver; and (d) the law expressly provides for a right of detained suspected or accused persons to keep the letter of rights in their possession (in accordance with Article 4 of the Directive on the right to information). • The European Commission should, in line with the recommendation above concerning electronic recording, consider whether to propose an EU-wide standard regarding electronic recording of the process by which notification of procedural rights is provided, in order to ensure that the requirements regarding notification of procedural rights are complied with. • The European Commission should confirm that the right of access to documents that are essential to effectively challenging the lawfulness of arrest or detention must be routinely provided, and is not dependant on a request by the suspected or accused person, or their lawyer. Right of access to a lawyer • The European Commission should, in line with the recommendation above concerning electronic recording, consider whether to propose an EU-wide standard regarding electronic recording of the process by which notification of procedural rights is provided in order to ensure that the right of access to a lawyer is properly notified, and to avoid police officers from circumventing the right. • The European Commission should, in line with the recommendation above concerning electronic 61