The European project titled “Suspects in Restraints: the importance of appearances: how suspects and accused persons are presented in the courtroom, in public and in the media — SIR” has been aiming at contributing to the effective implementation of the EU Directive 2016/343 on the strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence, by reducing the number of instances in which suspects and accused persons are presented in court or to the public in ways that create a perception of guilt. The project has been carried out in five Member States of the European Union (Croatia, France, Hungary, Malta and Spain), under the coordination of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, in partnership with Aditus, Fair Trials Europe, Human Rights House Zagreb, Mérték, Rights International Spain and Vienna University.
The aim of the this toolkit is to present – on the basis of the national reports from the five participating Member States and the comparative report analysing common trends and challenges in these countries – good practices and innovative ideas for law enforcement and judicial officials on how the presumption of innocence and security concerns may be balanced in a way that satisfies the Directive requirements.
Toolkit is available here
