Silence of suspect or accused person in criminal proceedings: Right and not weakness
By George Kazoleas, Lawyer LL.M. The silence of a suspect or accused person in criminal proceedings is a right enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights (Article 6 (1)). Unfortunately, in some legal systems and in their criminal practice, the defendant's silence is regarded as confession or acceptance of the charge, a practice that is fundamentally affecting the core of his defense rights. The right to silence is an important aspect of the presumption of innocence and its usefulness lies in protecting the accused person from self-incrimination. Monitoring compliance with the right to silence, as well as the related right of self-incrimination, is particularly critical for the offense, that a person is suspected or accused of having committed, but not for example in matters related to identifying a suspect or accused. The essence of the right to remain silent is to prohibit the suspect or the accused person from speaking, answering questions or providing info