Article 6 Echr in Criminal Proceedings Recent Developments
| Author | Dean Spielmann |
| Published date | 01 September 2010 |
| Date | 01 September 2010 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/203228441000100302 |
| Subject Matter | Analysis & Opinions |
New Journal of Eu ropean Crimina l Law, Vol. 1, Issue 3, 2010 295
ANALYSIS & OPINIONS
Recent Developments
D S*
INTRODUCTION
1. rough its recent case-law, the European Cour t of Human Rights has considerably
ne-tuned the principles governing the rights of t he defence.
2. Guaranteeing the general right to a fair trial, Article 6 also provides for speci c
rights, such as the rights to a public hearing and to be tried within a reasonable
time, a s well as more pa rticular rights such as the rights to b e presumed inn ocent,
to be informed of the accusation, to have adequate time and facilities, to defend
oneself and to have the assista nce of counsel, to test witness evidence, and to have
the free assistance of an interpreter. Article 6 also encompasses the privilege
against self-incriminat ion.1
3. e Court has had the opportunity to de velop the case-law, most notably as regards
access to court and i n particular t he right to a fair hearing i n criminal proceed ings.
In particular, the case-law concerning the use of allegedly tainted evidence, or
evidence gathered in violation of other Convention rights, such as Article 8 and
Article 3, has been clari ed. e Court has also dwelled upon the independence
and impartiality requirements of domestic criminal courts and has, in a series of
cases, highlighted the importance of the right to legal assistance at the initial
stages of crimina l proceedings.
* Judge of the Europea n Court of Human Rig hts. is contri bution is based on a paper delivered on
the occasion of a visit of a high level delegation of United Kingdom jud ges (European Cou rt of
Human Right s, 18 June 2010). e author would like to t hank Ms Leto C ariolou, Barr ister, of Middle
Temple, for comments on an earlier d ra of this article. e author also extends hi s thanks to Mr
James Branna n and Mr Nicholas Raveney, both of the E nglish langua ge division of the Cour t.
1 See Stefan Trechsel, Human Rights in Criminal Proceedings (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2005).
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