CYIL vol. 13 (2022)

MONIKA FOREJTOVÁ CYIL 13 ȍ2022Ȏ prosecution which aim to prove the guilt of the suspect or accused person, and to preliminary decisions of a procedural nature, which are taken by judicial or other competent authorities and which are based on suspicion or incriminating evidence (paragraph 1). Member States shall ensure that appropriate measures are available in the event of a breach of the obligation laid down in paragraph 1 of this Article not to refer to suspects or accused persons as being guilty, in accordance with this Directive and, in particular, with Article 10 (paragraph 2). The obligation laid down in paragraph 1 not to refer to suspects or accused persons as being guilty shall not prevent public authorities from publicly disseminating information on the criminal proceedings where strictly necessary for reasons relating to the criminal investigation or to the public interest (paragraph 3) .” The principle of the presumption of innocence 61 has two aspects (substantive and procedural). The substantive aspect of the presumption of innocence principle prevents the accused from being found guilty before the court has finally decided on their guilt, while the procedural aspects determine the rules for sentencing in the quality of impartiality and on the basis of the law and in accordance with the law. 62 The principle of the presumption of innocence is one of the fundamental principles of criminal proceedings, and the Czech Criminal Procedure Code imposes a number of obligations on law enforcement authorities in these fundamental principles, including the consideration of criminal cases with full respect for the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Charter and the international treaties on human rights and fundamental freedoms to which the Czech Republic is bound (Article 2(4) of the Czech Criminal Procedure Code). The criminal law enforcement authorities are thus obliged to ensure that the principle of the presumption of innocence in criminal proceedings is maintained until a final decision on guilt and punishment is made. The principle of the presumption of innocence is thus primarily intended to protect the accused against judicial decisions or other pronouncements by officials which amount to a declaration of guilt without being preceded by actual proof of guilt in accordance with the law 63 and beyond reasonable doubt. It also follows from the principle of the presumption of innocence that no state authority is entitled to pronounce guilt or to decide on the guilt of a person against whom a criminal prosecution is being conducted before it has been pronounced by a competent court in a final judgment of conviction. 64 Thus, the presumption of innocence is violated merely because the statement of an official concerning the accused reflects or even already expresses the opinion that the accused person is guilty, before their guilt has been established in accordance with the law. Even an argument by a public official suggesting that the public official considers the accused guilty is considered a violation of this principle. In general, therefore, the emphasis is on the choice of words used. Whether the statements complained of by the prosecuting authorities violate the presumption of innocence is to be assessed according to the particular circumstances in 61 BUIZA, A., A. An Extensive but Not Very Stringent Presumption of Innocence (Art. 6.2 ECHR). In: GARCÍA ROCA, J., SANTOLAYA, P. (eds.). Europe of Rights: A Compendium on the European Convention of Human Rights . Leiden/Boston: Brill | Nijhoff, 2012, pp. 251–265. 62 MULÁK, J. The principle of the presumption of innocence in the European and international context. Czech Yearbook of Public and Private International Law , 2018, Volume 9, p. 199–202. 63 Finding of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic of 1 April 2015, Case No. I. ÚS 2726/14. 64 Judgment of the ECtHR in Khuzhin and Others v. Russia , 23 October 2008, application no. 13470/02.

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