b. The ‘Using EU Law in Practice’ Toolkit This Toolkit should be used alongside the ‘Using EU Law in Practice’ Toolkit which contains explanations of the assumptions made about the legal effects of the Directives. It also contains a general introduction to the concept of ‘invoking the Directive’ through reliance upon remedial mechanisms such as invalidity of procedural acts, exclusion / disregarding of evidence and so on. When make a ‘Fair Trials’ advice’ suggestion in a triple-bordered blue-shaded box, we are relying upon this approach to the Directives in general so you are encouraged to cross-refer to the ‘Using EU Law in Practice’ Toolkit in that regard. There are, however, occasionally specific points to make about relying on this particular Directive, and these are covered in this Toolkit. c. A word of caution We think it important to underline that this Toolkit is drafted based on certain assumptions. As mentioned above, we have endeavoured to identify these clearly in the body of the text. This is both in acknowledgment of the fact that there may be other points of view, and in order to ensure you are aware that these are inferences which you will need to be happy to stand by if you are going to rely on them in court. The Toolkit is also drafted with lawyers from all EU Member States in mind. Necessarily, it cannot cater for all individual variations in criminal procedure in the different EU Member States (though it does use occasional national-level examples to put matters in context). In addition, it cannot take account of existing professional traditions and deontological rules established by national or regional bars. So you will need to adapt our suggestions to work within your own local context. d. Keep in touch With those qualifications, we encourage you to follow the steps in this Toolkit, try out the arguments we propose and to let us know how you get on by contacting us via the contacts in the preface. We expect there to be a learning process in the first year or two following the implementation deadlines of the Directives, and will be keen to hear from you about your experience and share lessons. B. BEFORE THE DIRECTIVE: OVERVIEW OF ECHR PRINCIPLES The Directive covers certain areas of defence rights which were – to some extent – covered by the case-law of the ECtHR. By way of introduction, we would draw your attention to the following key strands of case-law under Articles 5 and 6 ECtHR. Specific cases within each group are examined within the body of the Toolkit but we encourage you to conduct your own research too. Article 6 case-law on being ‘charged’: The cases confirm that a person becomes entitled to guarantees under Article 6 at the point when they are ‘charged’, which is interpreted as meaning the point at which they are made aware they are suspected or when the interests of the person are substantially affected, which can mean when there is evidence that they have committed an offence.9 9 Case of Bandeltov v. Ukraine, App. no. 23180/06 (Judgment of 31 October 2013), paragraph 56. 7