The applicant, after arrest, had been forced to regurgitate a bag of cocaine, there was a complaint that article 3 had been violated as well as article 6.
Held: Even evidence which may properly be described as ‘independent of the will of the suspect’ which has been obtained by inhuman or degrading treatment may constitute a breach of the entitlement to a fair trial.
In examining whether a procedure has extinguished the very essence of the privilege against self-incrimination, it will have regard, in particular, to the nature and degree of the compulsion, the existence of any relevant safeguards in the procedures and the use to which any material so obtained is put.
‘The Court has consistently held, however, that the right not to incriminate oneself is primarily concerned with respecting the will of an accused person to remain silent. As commonly understood in the legal systems of the contacting parties to the Convention and elsewhere, it does not extend to the use in criminal proceedings of material which may be obtained from the accused through the use of compulsory powers but which has an existence independent of the will of the suspect such as, inter alia, documents acquired pursuant to a warrant, breath, blood, urine, hair or voice samples and bodily tissue for the purpose of DNA testing.’
Citations:
54810/00, [2006] ECHR 721, (2007) 44 EHRR 32
Links:
Statutes:
European Convention on Human Rights
Jurisdiction:
Human Rights
Cited by:
Cited – Regina v S and A CACD 9-Oct-2008
The defendant appealed against his conviction under the 2000 Act for failing to disclose the key used to encrypt a computer file. He was subject to a control order as a suspected terrorist. As the police raided his house, they found the key had been . .
Cited – Cadder v Her Majesty’s Advocate SC 26-Oct-2010
Statement without lawyer access was inadmissible
The accused complained that he had been convicted for assault and breach of the peace on the basis of a statement made by him during an interview with the police where, under the 1995 Act, he had been denied access to a lawyer.
Held: The . .
Cited – Her Majesty’s Advocate v P SC 6-Oct-2011
(Scotland) The appellant had been interviewed by police without being offered access to a solicitor. He complained that the interview and information obtained only through it had been used to found the prosecution.
Held: The admission of the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Human Rights, Criminal Practice
Updated: 06 September 2022; Ref: scu.246434