Samenvatting

Based on earlier empirical research, this contribution investigates how the Counsel in Police Interrogation Act, which was implemented in 2017, works out in practice. The authors analyse the data in two steps. First, based on existing documents and interviews, the underlying policy theory is reconstructed. Second, based on questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, observations, registries and investigation files, an overview is provided about the way in which investigating officers and lawyers actually act. The policy theory shows that specific acts of investigating officers and lawyers are required to reach legislation’s proposed goals. In practice, investigating officers and lawyers generally act as expected according to the legislation. Yet, under certain conditions, adequate legal aid provision is dependent on the individual way investigating officers and lawyers act and the opportunity structure in which they operate. The empirical results raise the question whether the Counsel in Police Interrogation Act sufficiently contributes to safeguarding the fundamental right to a fair trial.