Right to access to a lawyer in Europe: anything new under the sun?

The paper reflects on the current level of protection of the right to access to a lawyer in Europe. After the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the right is protected by the integrated systems of ECHR and EU. The first part of the paper is dedicated to detect if this situation is viable and suitable, under the viewpoint of effectiveness of the right. The second part of the paper aims to reflect on the content of Directive 2013/48: a critical approach to the text is proposed, comparing it with the results already achieved in the past by ECtHR jurisprudence