PURPOSE: to ensure the right to a fair trial by
setting out common minimum standards on certain aspects of the
presumption of innocence and of the right to be present at trial in
criminal proceedings
PROPOSED ACT: Directive of the European Parliament and
of the Council.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European
Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative
procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.
BACKGROUND: the Stockholm Programme put a strong
focus on the strengthening of the rights of individuals in criminal
proceedings. The European Council invited the Commission to
consider establishing minimum procedural rights for suspects or
accused persons, and to address the issue of presumption of
innocence, in order to promote better cooperation in that
area.
Up to now, three measures have been adopted: Directive 2010/64/EU on the
right to interpretation and translation, Directive 2012/13/EU on the
right to information and Directive 2013/48/EU on the
right of access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings.
The proposal continues this work and is part of a
series of measures on criminal justice which includes: (i) a directive on provisional
legal aid for suspects or accused persons deprived of liberty and
legal aid in European arrest warrant proceedings; (ii) a directive on procedural
safeguards for children suspected or accused in criminal
proceedings
Moreover, on 14 June 2011, the Commission published a
Green Paper on the
application of EU criminal justice legislation in the field of
detention to reflect on ways to strengthen the application of
the principle of mutual recognition in the area of detention,
within the limits of the EU's competence.
The principle of presumption of innocence has been
developed over the years. The European Court of Human Rights
(ECtHR) has held that Article 6(2) of the ECHR encompasses three
key requirements: (i) the right not to be publicly presented as
convicted by public authorities before the final judgment; (ii) the
fact that the burden of proof is on prosecution and that any
reasonable doubts on guilt should benefit the accused; and (iii)
the right of the accused to be informed of the accusation against
him.
The right to be present at trial is also an essential
right of defence.
IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the Commissions analysis
considers that there exist points in which legal safeguards should
be improved with regard to certain aspects the presumption of
innocence to strengthen this fundamental right.
CONTENT: the draft directive aims to lay down minimum
rules concerning certain aspects of the right of suspects and
accused persons to be presumed innocent unless proven guilty by a
final judgment.
The proposal covers the following rights:
1) The right not to be presented guilty by public
authorities before the final judgment: the ECtHR established as one of the basic aspects of
the principle of presumption of innocence the fact that a court or
public official may not publicly present the suspects or accused
persons as if they were guilty of an offence if they have not been
tried and convicted of it by a final judgment.
2) The burden of proof
is on prosecution and any reasonable doubts on the guilt should
benefit the accused: this presupposes that a court's judgment must
be based on evidence as put before it and not on mere allegations
or assumptions.
3) The right not to incriminate one-self and not to
cooperate and the right to remain silent: these rights lie at the heart of the notion of a fair
trial under Article 6 of the ECHR.
·
the right not to incriminate oneself presupposes
that the prosecution in a criminal case seeks to prove the case
against the accused without resort to evidence obtained through
methods of coercion or oppression;
·
the right to remain silent must be ensured and
any inferences drawn from the fact that suspects make use of
this right should be excluded.
Suspects should be promptly informed of their right to
remain silent. Such information should also refer to the content of
the right to remain silent and of the consequences of renouncing to
it and of invoking it.
4) Right to be present at one's trial: the proposal lays down this right, established by
the ECtHR, of an accused to be present at the trial and also
establishes limited exceptions to this right, in line with the
Charter, the ECHR and EU law. It provides that Member States must
ensure that the right to be present applies to any trial aiming
at assessing the question of the guilt of the accused person (both
conviction and acquittal decisions).
Non-regression clause:
the proposal aims to ensure that setting common minimum standards
does not have the effect of lowering standards in certain Member
States and that the standards set in the Charter and in the ECHR
are maintained.