Presumption of innocence

Presumption of innocence is an essential right that the accused enjoys in criminal trials in all countries respecting human rights. It states that the accused is presumed to be innocent until it has been declared guilty by a court. The burden of proof is thus on the prosecution, which has to convince the court of the guilt of the accused. Conversely, in many authoritarian regimes, the prosecution case is believed by default unless the accused can prove he is innocent — presumption of guilt. This right is so important in modern democracies that many have explicitly included it in their legal codes and constitutions:

• In France, article 9 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, of constitutional value, says "Every man is supposed innocent until having been declared guilty." and the preliminary article of the code of criminal procedure says "any suspected or prosecuted person is presumed to be innocent until his guilt has been established".
• Although the Constitution of the United States does not cite it explicitly, presumption of innocence is widely held to follow from the 5th, 6th and 14th amendments. See also Coffin v. United States
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 11, states: Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
• The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of the Council of Europe says (art. 6.2): "Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.".

Guaranteeing the presumption of innocence extends beyond the judicial system. For instance, in many countries journalistic codes of ethics state that journalists should refrain from referring to suspects as though their guilt was certain. Also, many civil rights activists feel that pre-employment drug testing, while legal, violates this principle, as potential employees are presumed to users of illegal drugs, and must prove themselves innocent via the test. A commonly held myth is that in civil law or inquisitorial justice systems, the accused does not enjoy presumption of innocence. This is simply false. This myth comes in large part because in civil law nations, an investigating magistrate supervises police investigations. However the magistrate does not determine innocence or guilt and functions much as a grand jury does in common law nations.

External links

\n* The History of Presumed Innocence\n* Guilty Men, by Alexander Volokh\n* Coffin v. United States, 156 U.S. 432; 15 S. Ct. 394 \nCategory:Rights of the accused