In absentia trials and standards relating to the summoning to trial of the accused person in EU Law, including reflections on the conformity of Portuguese criminal procedural law with the former

Abstract

In the light of the right to a fair trial and the possibility of in absentia trials, the main purpose of this article is to discuss the meaning of the concept of “having been informed, in due time, of the trial,” under Article 8(2a) of Directive (EU) 2016/343, read in parallel with Article 4a(1) (a) (i) of Council Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA. When thus read and taking into account the legislative history of the Directive, it seems that a different standard is foreseen for the summoning of the accused person for trial under each of the referred legal instruments. I then test the Portuguese standards for summoning the accused person for trial and trials in absentia under each of the possible standards.