THE PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE IN THE LAW OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

MIRIĆ Filip (Правни факултет Универзитета у Нишу), filip@prafak.ni.ac.rs
KAROVIĆ Sadmir (Правни факултет Универзитета у Травнику, Државнa агенцијa за истраге и заштиту, ЈУ Центар за едукацију судија и тужилаца Федерације Босне и Херцеговине), karovic.s@hotmail.com

The presumption of innocence is one of the basic rights of the accused in criminal proceedings. Its essence is that everyone will be considered innocent until their guilt is determined by a final decision of the competent authorities. The subject of this paper is a review and analysis of the relevant provisions of EU Directive 2016/343 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on strengthening certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and the right to participate in criminal proceedings. The application of the adversarial principle is inseparable from the presumption of innocence. This paper aims to point out the importance of the presumption of innocence for modern criminal proceedings and to show the domestic law of the European Union in this area, taking into account the provisions of the said Directive.

Ključne reči: the presumption of innocence, trial principle, criminal procedure, European Union