Type: Judgment

Authority: European Authorities: Euopean Union' Court of Justice

Date: 02/13/2020

Subject: According to the Court, Directive 2016/343/EU on the strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and of the right to be present at the trial in criminal proceedings does not preclude national legislation which provides, in a situation where the accused person has been informed, in due time, of his trial and of the consequences of not appearing at that trial, and where that person was represented by a mandated lawyer appointed by him, that his right to be present at his trial is not infringed where he decided unequivocally not to appear at one of the hearings held in connection with his trial; or he did not appear at one of those hearings for a reason beyond his control if, following that hearing, he was informed of the steps taken in his absence and, with full knowledge of the situation, decided and stated either that he would not call the lawfulness of those steps into question in reliance on his non-appearance, or that he wished to participate in those steps, leading the national court hearing the case to repeat those steps, in particular by conducting a further examination of a witness, in which the accused person was given the opportunity to participate fully

Parties: Spetsializirana prokuratura

Classification: Justice - Art. 47 Fair trial, public hearing - Art. 48 Presumption of innocence - Rights of defence

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