United Kingdom: Fair trial concerns in Northern Ireland: the right of silence

This document describes AI’s concerns about the curtailment of the right of silence of all people involved in criminal proceedings in Northern Ireland. The enactment of the Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1988 and the judicial interpretation of that order have, AI believes, significantly diminished an essential component of fundamental rights guaranteed by international standards, to the detriment of the individual rights of the accused. These standards include two treaties to which the United Kingdom is party: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. A survey of case law interpreting the Order is included.

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