Language assistance in criminal proceedings in Belgium

In this ethnographic research project, we examine the implementation and application in Belgium of EU Directives 2010/64/EU and 2012/29/EU on the right to oral and written language assistance in criminal proceedings. We examine (1) how these directives were transposed into Belgian national law, (2) how the police, the correctional court and the public prosecutor’s office in Ghent apply the right to language assistance in practice and (3) what role lawyers play in facilitating language assistance for their clients.