The Presumption of Innocence and the Human Rights Act

There has recently been a proliferation of case law dealing with potential inroads into the presumption of innocence in the criminal lawof England andWales, in the light of article 6(2) of the European Convention on Human Rights. This article is concerned with the nature of the presumption of innocence. It considers two central issues.The ¢rst is how the courts should address the question of when the presumption of innocence is interferedwith.The second is the extent to which interference with the presumption of innocence may be justi¢ed on the grounds of proportionality. It is argued that the courts have not developed the appropriate concepts and principles properly to address these questions.