triggered the so-called Salduz reforms where by various EU Member States undertook reforms to improve the access to a lawyer.70 The EU procedural roadmap71 has created an even greater opportunity as it directly obliged EU Member States to undertake significant reforms. These were however all too often only transposed in law and remain poorly implemented in practice. The many projects identifying and analysing the problems in that regard have created further opportunities but have often not been properly followed up and the critical findings and recommendations by projects like ‘Inside Police Custody’72 have not been taken up by other CSOs, international actors (such as the CPT), or the media. A recent global opportunity to strengthen procedural rights mentioned by experts are the Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigations and Information Gathering (Méndez Principles). The Méndez Principles contain an explicit paragraph on ‘Legal Safeguards’ that states: “Legal and procedural safeguards grounded in international legal norms are an essential component of the interviewing process. Their effective implementation before, during, and after the interview contributes to the success of the process, by ensuring respect for human rights and enhancing the reliability and evidentiary value of the information obtained. They increase the likelihood of professional, effective interviews and the observance of fair treatment throughout the informationgathering and judicial processes. Therefore, it is in the interest of authorities, including interviewers, to ensure that interviewees are treated with dignity and due respect for the relevant legal standards because it produces legally sound outcomes. The authorities must ensure the effective implementation of the following safeguards throughout the interview process: a. Right to information about rights b. Right to remain silent c. Right to information about the reasons for arrest and any charges at the time of the arrest d. Access to interpretation e. Right to notify a relative or third party of one’s detention f. Right of access to a lawyer, including through legal aid g. Right of access to a doctor and an independent medical examination h. Right to contact with the outside world i. Registration of persons held in detention j. Full recording of the interview k. Right to review and sign the interview record l. Right to be brought promptly before a judge or other judicial authority m. Access to effective and independent complaints mechanisms and oversight73 ” The Méndez Principles clarify the importance of procedural rights not only for suspected and accused persons but particularly for the authorities to ensure a professional information-gathering and judicial process. It thus provides the opportunity to re-frame the issue and gain support by the authorities. Police experts have confirmed that the Méndez Principles are of great interest for police organisations worldwide and an opportunity to explain that effective procedural rights are not merely a human rights obligation but a matter of professional and effective policing. The very purpose of the principles are mentioned in paragraph 4: “There is a need to move questioning culture away from accusatory, coercive, manipulative and confession-driven practices towards rapport-based interviewing. This includes the application of legal and procedural safeguards throughout the interview process, which reduces the 70. Marion Isobel ’Case Watch: Salduz Fever Sweeps Europe’ (Open Society Justice Initiative, 25.04.2011) https://www. justiceinitiative.org/voices/case-watch-salduz-fever-sweeps-europe 71. Council of the European Union, ‘Roadmap With a View to Fostering Protection of Suspected and Accused Persons in Criminal Proceedings’ (2009) 11457/09 DROIPEN, 53 COPEN 120. 72. Lloyd-Cape, ‘Inside Police Custody 2’ (2018); Zach, Katona, and Birk, ‘Inside Police Custody 2: Country Report’ (2018). 73. ‘Legal Safeguards’ in Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigations and Information Gathering (2021) (Méndez Principles) § 61-62. 31