European Court of Human Rights - case of Imbrioscia v. Switzerland (1993) (excerpts)
European Court of Human Rights - case of Imbrioscia v. Switzerland (1993) (excerpts)
(...)
38. While it confers on everyone charged with a criminal offence
the right to "defend himself in person or through legal
assistance ...", Article 6 para. 3 (c) (art. 6-3-c) does not specify
the manner of exercising this right. It thus leaves to the Contracting
States the choice of the means of ensuring that it is secured in their
judicial systems, the Court's task being only to ascertain whether the
method they have chosen is consistent with the requirements of a fair
trial (see the Quaranta judgment previously cited, Series A no. 205,
p. 16, para. 30). In this respect, it must be remembered that the
Convention is designed to "guarantee not rights that are theoretical
or illusory but rights that are practical and effective" and that
assigning a counsel does not in itself ensure the effectiveness of the
assistance he may afford an accused (see the Artico judgment previously
cited, Series A no. 37, p. 16, para. 33).
In addition, the Court points out that the manner in which
Article 6 paras. 1 and 3 (c) (art. 6-1, art. 6-3-c) is to be applied
during the preliminary investigation depends on the special features
of the proceedings involved and on the circumstances of the case; in
order to determine whether the aim of Article 6 (art. 6) - a fair
trial - has been achieved, regard must be had to the entirety of the
domestic proceedings conducted in the case (see, mutatis mutandis, the
Granger v. the United Kingdom judgment of 28 March 1990, Series A
no. 174, p. 17, para. 44).