Around 9 million people are the subject of felony proceedings yearly within the EU. 1 All of them are entitled, by law, to a good trial no matter the charge confronted. The presumption of innocence (set out in Article 6 (2) ECHR and Article 48 (1) EU Charter) is the cornerstone of the right to a fair trial. It is rooted in the necessity to defend the individual against the improper use of coercive state power. The principle is derived from, and entrenched inside, the constitutional traditions of all EU Member States. In essence, it relates to each the procedural burden and standard of proof (the prosecution must show the case towards the defendant past reasonable doubt) whereas additionally constituting a privilege in its personal right.
This article describes the objectives, growth, and some preliminary results of a program the authors led at the University of Minnesota Law School in …