Criminal Law: Burden of Proof: Reasonable Doubt: Insanity: Contradictory and Inconsistent Instructions

1904 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 317
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
Burden Of Proof ◽  
Reasonable Doubt

3 Right to be Presumed Innocent

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clooney Amal ◽  
Webb Philippa
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Burden Of Proof ◽  
Reasonable Doubt ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
International Human ◽  
Assessment Of Evidence ◽  
The Right

This chapter focuses on the right to be presumed innocent, one of the most ancient and important principles of criminal justice, and a prerequisite for any system based on the rule of law. The right is absolute and non-derogable and, at its core, prohibits convictions that are predetermined or based on flimsy grounds. International human rights bodies have therefore found that where a conviction is based on non-existent, insufficient, or unreliable evidence, the presumption has been violated and a miscarriage of justice has occurred. More frequently, international human rights bodies have applied the presumption to require specific procedural protections during a trial. These include guarantees that the prosecution bears the burden of proving a defendant’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt, and that the defendant should not be presented or described as a criminal before he has been proved to be one. The chapter concludes that the presumption is protected in similar terms in international human rights treaties, but also highlights divergences in international jurisprudence relating to the standard for finding that a court’s assessment of evidence violates the presumption, the permissibility of reversing the burden of proof, and the extent to which the presumption applies after a trial has been completed.

1. The basis of criminal liability

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Herring
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
Criminal Liability ◽  
Burden Of Proof ◽  
Sufficient Evidence ◽  
Essential Information ◽  
Standard Set

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter discusses what criminal liability is and is not about; the meaning of burden of proof; and the reform of criminal law. The study of the criminal law is the study of liability. It is not about whether a person can be charged with a crime, or what sentence he may face if convicted, but rather it deals with whether a person is innocent or guilty of an offence (i.e. whether or not he can be convicted). The burden of proof means the requirement on a party to adduce sufficient evidence to persuade the fact-finder (the magistrates or the jury), to a standard set by law, that a particular fact is true.

The Presumption of Guilt and the English Law of Theft, 1750–1850

2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce P. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
United States Supreme Court ◽  
Legal Culture ◽  
The United States ◽  
Reasonable Doubt ◽  
Presumption Of Innocence ◽  
Golden Thread ◽  
Criminal Charge ◽  
Anglo American ◽  
Over Time

When it is said that a defendant to a criminal charge is presumed to be innocent, what is really meant is that the burden of proving his guilt is upon the prosecution. This golden thread…runs through the web of the English criminal law. Unhappily Parliament regards the principle with indifference—one might almost say with contempt. The statute book contains many offences in which the burden of proving his innocence is cast on the accused.No principle in Anglo-American criminal law is more vaunted than the so-called “presumption of innocence”: the doctrine that the prosecution must bothproduceevidence of guilt andpersuadethe fact-finder “beyond a reasonable doubt.” The claim that “every man is presumed to be innocent until he is proved guilty” has been described as “dear to the hearts of Englishmen” and as an omnipresent feature of English criminal law. In 1895, the United States Supreme Court declared the “presumption of innocence in favor of the accused” to be “the undoubted law, axiomatic and elementary”—a protection that “lies at the foundation of the administration of our criminal law.” Befitting its lofty stature in Anglo-American legal culture, the presumption has become associated, over time, with that most famous of Blackstonean maxims: “[I]t is better that ten guilty persons escape, than that one innocent suffer.”

scholarly journals Islamic criminal procedure law: human rights issues

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (10) ◽  
pp. 47-57
Author(s):  
Yusif Mamedov
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Due Process ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Burden Of Proof ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Right

It has been established that harsh Islamic punishments are practically not applied due to the high burden of proof and the need to involve an exhaustive number of witnesses. It has been proven that the Islamic criminal justice system provides the accused with basic guarantees. It is noted that according to Sharia, Islamic crimes are divided into three categories: Hadd, Qisas and Tazir. It is noted that Islamic criminal law provides that the accused is not guilty if his guilt is not proven. It is noted that equality before the law is one of the main legal principles of the Islamic criminal model, as all persons are equal before the law and are condemned equally regardless of religious or economic status (lack of immunity). There are four main principles aimed at protecting human rights in Islamic criminal law: the principle of legality (irreversible action), the principle of presumption of innocence, the principle of equality and the principle of ultimate proof. In addition, the Islamic criminal justice system provides defendants with many safeguards, which are always followed during detention, investigation, trial and after trial. It is established that such rights are: 1) the right of every person to the protection of life, honor, freedom and property; 2) the right to due process of law; 3) the right to a fair and open trial before an impartial judge; 4) freedom from coercion to self-disclosure; 5) protection against arbitrary arrest and detention; 6) immediate court proceedings; 7) the right to appeal. It is noted that if a person is charged, he/she has many remedies It is noted that the trial must be fair, in which the qadi (judge) plays an important role. It has been established that, in addition to the procedural guarantees, the qualifications and character of the qadi, as well as the strict requirements of Islamic rules of proof, are intended to ensure a fair trial in the case of the accused. Adherence to these principles has been shown to indicate that the rights of the accused are fully guaranteed under Islamic criminal law.

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