Page 4 - If-you-are-suspected-of-a-criminal-offence

If you are suspected of a criminal offence

You can be held in police custody:

• f considered necessary in the interests of the police investigation
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• f ordered by a duly authorized senior police officer or the assistant prosecutor
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• f that officer has interviewed you in person
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• f the alleged offence is ‘arrestable’, e.g. theft or possession of drugs with
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intent to supply.
Review by an examining judge

Within three days and fifteen hours of the time of your arrest, you must be
brought before the rechter-commissaris, or ‘examining judge’. He (or she) will
determine whether your further detention is justified. In certain circumstances,
he can order you to be placed on remand awaiting trial. You can also request
him to order your immediate release. If he considers further detention to be
unwarranted, he will do so.

Your lawyer

If you are detained in police custody, you will automatically be assigned a
lawyer to provide legal assistance free of charge. This lawyer (‘solicitor’ or
‘attorney’) is entirely impartial and has no connection with either the police or
the prosecutor’s office: his name just happens to be on the duty roster at that
time. Of course, you can also appoint your own lawyer who may also be able to
provide his services free of charge depending on your personal financial
circumstances. It is advisable to discuss the matter of fees during your first
meeting. Your lawyer, whether court-appointed or selected by yourself, will
provide advice and support throughout the legal proceedings.

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