Европейский суд по правам человека
16 февраля 2000 года
Facts
During the criminal proceedings against the applicant, relevant evidence was withheld from the defence on the ground of public interest immunity.
Complaint
The applicant alleged that the proceedings before the national courts violated the applicant’s rights under Article 6 of the Convention.
Court’s ruling
The Court noted the importance of disclosure of the prosecution case, and the need for any difficulties caused to the defence by limitations on defence rights to be sufficiently counterbalanced by the procedures followed by the judicial authorities.
However, the defence had been told that an application for non-disclosure had been made and were also given an edited summary of the information. The defence had been able to outline the defence case to the judge. In these circumstances, where the trial judge took the decision on whether it was permissible for the prosecution not to disclose material, and where the material was not put before the jury, the Court found that the defence had been kept informed so far as was possible without revealing the material which the prosecution sought to keep secret on public interest grounds. The fact that the trial judge had kept the need for disclosure under assessment throughout the trial added a further safeguard. Thus, there was no violation of Article 6.