The European Parliament has backed proposals that will, for the first time, set common standards to secure rights for suspects in criminal proceedings.

It voted last week to approve plans from the European Commission to ensure translation and interpretation rights.

The draft law guarantees the right of suspects to be informed about evidence in criminal proceedings throughout the EU and to receive legal advice in their own language.

The draft directive is the first in a series of fair trial measures launched under the Lisbon Treaty and set out in the Stockholm Programme in December 2009. It is the first EU measure setting common minimum standards for procedural rights and must now be approved by the Council of Ministers.

The Law Society welcomed the move. Jago Russell, chief executive of Fair Trials International, said: ‘For too long people charged with offences in other European countries have been denied a fair trial because they could not understand the charges or the evidence against them.’