(First Section) The claimant complaned that he had not been allowed access to a lawyer when being questioned by police when he was not under arrest. He had been stopped driving home from work and his car inspected by the police after reports of workers stealing diesel from their service vehicles. Two cans of diesel … Continue reading Zaichenko v Russia: ECHR 18 Feb 2010

The defendant complained that he had been tried and convicted in his absence. Held: The right to a fair trial had been breached: ‘the object and purpose of [article 6] taken as a whole show that a person ‘charged with a criminal offence’ is entitled to take part in the hearing. Moreover, sub-paragraphs (c), (d) … Continue reading Colozza v Italy: ECHR 12 Feb 1985

The defendant had been convicted and made subect to a confiscation order in 1996. A final order for enforcement was made in late 2002. The defendant said the delay in the enforcement proceedings was a breach of his right to a trial within a reasonable time. Held: The reasonable time guarantee afforded by Article 6.1 … Continue reading Lloyd v Bow Street Magistrates Court: Admn 8 Oct 2003

Two fraud prosecutions against the claimants had lasted for 15 and 20 years respectively.
Held: Article 6.1 applies to all stages of criminal proceedings, including sentencing and any appeal. The ‘reasonable time’ in criminal matters, . .

Extension of Inquiries into Jury Room Activities The defendants sought an enquiry as to events in the jury rooms on their trials. They said that the secrecy of a jury’s deliberations did not fit the human right to a fair trial. In one case, it was said that jurors believed that the defendant’s use of … Continue reading Regina v Connor and another; Regina v Mirza: HL 22 Jan 2004

(Grand Chamber) Complaint as to non-disclosure of prosecution evidence. Judges: Wildhaber P Citations: [2000] ECHR 91 Links: Bailii Statutes: European Convention on Human Rights 5 6.1 Citing: Conjoined Hearing – Jasper v The United Kingdom ECHR 16-Feb-2000 Grand Chamber – The defendants had been convicted after the prosecution had withheld evidence from them and from … Continue reading Rowe and Davis v The United Kingdom: ECHR 16 Feb 2000

Grand Chamber: ‘As the Court has already held in its previous judgments, the right set out in article 6.3(c) of the Convention is one element, among others, of the concept of a fair trial in criminal proceedings contained in article 6.1 (see Imbrioscia v Switzerland (1994) 17 EHRR 441, 24 November 1993, paras 36 and … Continue reading Dvorski v Croatia: ECHR 20 Oct 2015

The applicant complained that her criminal trial had been conducted unfairly, insofar as the judge had interfered so heavily as to make it difficult for her to present her case. The English Court of Appeal had criticised the judge, but concluded that the result remained fair. Held: Though the trial was subject to criticism, she … Continue reading CG v The United Kingdom: ECHR 19 Dec 2001

It was an infringement of the defendant’s right to a fair trial for the trial judge not to be involved in ex parte applications to exclude evidence. The defect could not be remedied by the same evidence later being presented also to the appeal court on an ex parte basis. There is a general requirement … Continue reading Atlan v The United Kingdom: ECHR 19 Jun 2001

The reasonableness of the length of proceedings must be assessed in the light of the circumstances of the case and with reference to the criteria established by its case-law, particularly the complexity of the case, the conduct of the applicant and of the relevant authorities and what was at stake for the applicant in the … Continue reading Frydlender v France: ECHR 27 Jun 2000

A Dutch court had convicted the applicants of attempted manslaughter and robbery on the basis of statements made, before their trial, by anonymous police officers, none of whom gave evidence before the Regional Court or the investigating judge. The Court of Appeal referred the case to the investigating judge who arranged hearings in which he, … Continue reading Van Mechelen And Others v The Netherlands: ECHR 23 Apr 1997

The fact that the elderly victim of the robbery of which the defendant had been convicted had failed to pick out Mr Edwards when she was shown two volumes of photographs of possible burglars which included his photograph was not disclosed to the defence. One of the police witnesses said that no fingerprints were found … Continue reading Edwards v The United Kingdom: ECHR 16 Dec 1992

The applicant had claimed compensation for unlawful detention and mistreatment during that detention; although the proceedings were civil in nature, they were governed by the code of criminal procedure. The applicant was not given an oral hearing before the first instance court which was responsible for establishing the facts and assessing the compensation; Turkey sought … Continue reading Goc v Turkey: ECHR 9 Nov 2000

The house was asked whether it might be correct to stay criminal proceedings as an abuse where for delay. The defendants were prisoners in a prison riot in 1998. The case only came on for trial in 2001, when they submitted that the delay was an abuse. Held: The defendants had a right to a … Continue reading Attorney-General’s Reference (No 2 of 2001): HL 11 Dec 2003

A breach of article 6.2 of the Convention in a trial need not automatically lead to the conclusion that the conviction was unsafe. The judge had failed to direct the jury to the effect that the offence of robbery required proof of the element of dishonesty. The court was entitled to conclude that that would … Continue reading Regina v Williams: CACD 30 Mar 2001

The judge failed to give a direction in accordance with recommendations from the Judicial Studies Board and counsel in the case as to the need for the jury not to draw inferences from the defendants’ failure to mention certain facts on interview. The concepts of fairness and safety were accepted to be different, but the … Continue reading Regina v Francom; Regina v Latif (Clare); Regina v Latif (Melna); Regina v Bevis; Regina v Harker: CACD 24 Oct 2000