The presumption of innocence in EU law: One step forward, two steps backwards

Abstract

The topic of the paper is the presumption of innocence in EU law and the case law of the Court of Justice EU. The paper begins by outlining legal regulation of the presumption of innocence in the Charter of fundamental rights of the EU and the Directive on certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and of the right to be present at the trial in criminal proceedings. The second part of the paper analyzes the case law of the Court of Justice EU in the application of the Directive with special reference to the presumption of innocence standards of the European Court of Human Rights. The paper points out the minimalistic orientation of the CJEU regarding the presumption of innocence, which in some elements lowers the standards of protection offered by ECtHR. Low standards threaten to produce a domino effect on the criminal courts in EU member states, which could create a risk to the presumption of innocence as a guarantee of the legitimacy of criminal proceedings.