Inside Police Custody 2 permitted at intervals, this has to be during ‘natural breaks’ so that it does not interrupt the course of the questioning. In practice, the role of the lawyer is further restricted in Romania; the criminal procedure code does not specify what a lawyer is permitted to do during interrogations, and in effect it is for the police to determine how much a lawyer can intervene, although some police officers appeared to be unclear about what types of intervention they should permit. Whilst it may be argued that the restrictions in Austria are within the discretion afforded to member states by the Directive, they are used to discourage suspects from exercising their right to a lawyer, and it is apparent that Romania has failed to ensure that lawyers can actively participate in interrogations. Spain provides an interesting example of how domestic courts may reinforce and clarify legal provisions regarding the role of lawyers in interrogations; but also how this may have a limited impact on policing practice. The Criminal Procedure Act, and internal police regulations, provide that a lawyer can intervene in interrogations and, at the end, can ask for elaboration on any point, and ask for a record to be made. This has been elaborated upon by the Constitutional Court, which has held that among the functions of the lawyer during interrogations is that of giving the client ‘due technical advice on how to conduct themselves during questioning, including the option of remaining silent, as well as on their right to check the accuracy of what has been transcribed in the minutes of the statement once the procedure has concluded’. However, in practice, the police have interpreted the role of the lawyer as being confined to asking questions or requesting clarification at the end of the interrogation. In the one observed case where the suspect elected to make a statement, the police interviewer warned the lawyer that she could not intervene. Data on how the police and lawyers interact during interrogations, and how lawyers operate during interrogations, is limited because of the refusal by the authorities in some countries to permit observations, referred to earlier, and as a result of the fact that relatively few suspects exercised their right, or were able to exercise their right, to a lawyer, and even if they did, the fact that it was difficult to find a lawyer who was willing and able to attend the interrogation. It is clear, however, that there is significant variation across the countries in the study. In Spain, where observations were permitted, it was noted by researchers that the police were generally reluctant to take statements from suspects, and in the one observed case where the suspect wished to make a statement, this was discouraged by both the police and the suspect’s lawyer. In Hungary, where observations by researchers of interrogations were not permitted, most lawyers interviewed said that the police do not normally interfere with their work, although a minority said that they did so, for example, by not allowing for lawyer/client consultations during interrogations, or by making them sit some distance from their client; which was also confirmed by the official from the Commissioner of Fundamental Rights who was interviewed. In Austria, lawyers reported that in the great majority of cases, a lawyer does not attend the initial interview, except in serious cases, and that this is particularly the case in legally-aided cases because of the procedure for applying for legal aid – a lacuna which is not adequately filled by the stand-by system referred to in section 4.2 above. In Romania and Lithuania lawyers, especially legal aid lawyers, were found generally to act in a passive manner, doing little or nothing to actively participate in the process in the interests of their client. This was graphically illustrated by a lawyer in Lithuania who, when asked by the researcher if they objected to the researcher’s presence, said “I make no decisions here, everything depends on the investigator. I’m just an observer, just like you’. Lawyers in Slovenia said that their presence in police interrogations generally leads the police to act in a more, formal, respectful manner towards the suspect. 51