European Perspective and Standards on Interrogational Fairness

auteur Wei Wu
tijdschrift GofS (ISSN: )
jaargang 2011
aflevering EU Criminal Justice, Financial & Economic Crime: new perspectives
onderdeel Artikelen
publicatie datum 4 mei 2011
taal English
pagina 85
samenvatting

This article examines the contribution which the European Court of Human Rights has made to the development of interrogational fairness at the pre-trial phase in modern European criminal proceedings. Although the Convention contains no explicit reference to the right to remain silent and the privilege against self-incrimination, the Court, drawing its rationale from Article 6 of the Convention, has been steadily developing its distinctive vision of these immunities in an attempt to create a doctrine that sets a limit below which contracting parties should not allow their legal systems
to fall, and at the same time accords with the established procedures within the civil law and common law traditions of its Contracting States. It is shown that the Court’s jurisprudence has produced a carefully balanced doctrinal framework that respects the individual’s choice to remain silent without creating absolute immunities. At the same time, the Court’s approach in defining defence rights not only reflects what is says about the universality of the right to remain silent but also gives plenty of scope for diverse application in different institutional and cultural settings.