The Presumption Of Innocence - European Law Principle

Regulated in article 6 paragraph 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the presumption of innocence is an essential principle in criminal proceedings and it is also a principle of European law. This latter feature was fully highlighted by the rich jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. The presumption of innocence principle is also included in the constitutions of some countries, such as Italy, Spain, Portugal and Canada. The Amendments of the US Constitution do not explicitly devote this principle, but they simply assume it if the provisions protecting the individual in terms of proof and procedure are taken into account. In France, this principle is set out in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789, as well in the French Procedure Code. In the Romanian Criminal Procedure Code, the presumption of innocence is included among the basic rules of the criminal proceedings. By adopting the presumption of innocence as a basic principle, distinct from the other rights that also guarantee individual freedom – the right to defence, respect for human dignity – there has been series of restructuring of the Romanian criminal trial.