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The Two Aspects of the Presumption of Innocence
Michelle Coleman 
Swansea University Author:
Michelle Coleman
Abstract
The presumption of innocence is a very old concept, with evidence suggesting that it has existed in one form or another since at least Hammurabi’s Code. It is present in every criminal justice system and is considered a fundamental principle within criminal justice. Problematically however, there is...
| Published: |
Criminal Justice Theory Blog
2022
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| Online Access: |
https://criminaljusticetheoryblog.wordpress.com/2022/10/14/the-two-aspects-of-the-presumption-of-innocence/ |
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa63113 |
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| Abstract: |
The presumption of innocence is a very old concept, with evidence suggesting that it has existed in one form or another since at least Hammurabi’s Code. It is present in every criminal justice system and is considered a fundamental principle within criminal justice. Problematically however, there is no settled normative definition of the presumption of innocence and the definitions within criminal codes are typically self-referential; saying something like, ‘The presumption of innocence is that the accused will be presumed innocent until proven guilty’. My experience, both formerly as a public defender and currently as an academic, has shown that everyone assumes they know what the presumption of innocence is but when pressed cannot define it, except perhaps by the circular logic of the criminal code. This experience led me to investigate the presumption of innocence to determine what it is, how it works, and whether it is being respected. This blog post is a short summary of the framework developed in my book The Presumption of Innocence in International Human Rights and Criminal Law (Routledge 2021). |
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| Keywords: |
presumption of innocence, legal theory, criminal law, evidence |
| College: |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |