Baltic: European Commission criticises Estonia, Lithuania over laws on child suspects

The European Commission (EC) has criticised Estonia and Lithuania for failing to transpose an EU directive on the rights of child suspects properly into national legislation, BNS reports. The EC opened an infringement procedure by sending a formal notice for failure to transpose the EU directive on procedural safeguards for children suspected or accused of crime fully into national law. Estonia and Lithuania now have two months to take necessary measures to remedy the shortcomings. Lithuania’s Justice Ministry annouced that it would review the EC’s conclusions and national legislation for inconsistencies, and would initiate legislative amendments if needed.