PARALLEL TRIALS, RIGHT TO THE PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE AND THE CASE LAW OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Abstract

The Strasbourg Court has dealt with the phenomenon of «parallel trials» or «trials by the press» from two complementary approaches: on one hand, by taking into account the rights of those persons which could be affected by press campaigns (privacy rights, right to the presumption of innocence); on the other, by evaluating the negative effects of those campaigns on the efficient operation of the justice system, and on the guarantees of the impartiality of courts. The Court has on several occasions considered that information given by the authorities and reproduced by the press affirming the culpability of the accused represented a violation of the right to the presumption of innocence