The right of the accused to use their regional or minority language in criminal proceedings

Article 9.1.a.ii of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is the sole Charter undertaking that recognizes a right to use a regional or minority language before judicial authorities, which is awarded to the accused in criminal proceedings. The goal of this paper is to survey compliance with article 9.1.a.ii in the 18 States Parties that have chosen this undertaking. Using the Committee of Experts' evaluation reports on the implementation of the Charter, this paper assesses its impact on the domestic legislation relevant to article 9.1.a.ii and its impact on practice. Besides mapping the fulfilments across the relevant States, this study identifies the obstacles for compliance and reflects on the recommendations made by the Committee to overcome the obstacles. The research shows that such recommendations have been quite ineffective so far, which confirms that most State Parties still face systemic difficulties in applying article 9.1.a.ii of the Charter.