The Right to a Fair Trial : An Analysis of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights with a Focus on the Presumption of Innocence and AI

Sammanfattning

This thesis examines the concept of the right to a fair trial present under article 6 of ECHR with a focus on the presumption of innocence under article 6 paragraph two, how it is reflected in Swedish law and practice and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in criminal sentencing. The purpose of this thesis is thereby to gain deeper knowledge of article 6 and the above-mentioned focuses. First the thesis examines how the European Court of Human rights (ECtHR) interpret and defines the concept of the right to a fair trial under article 6, the scope of the article, guar-antees within the article as well as when it can constitute as a violation or non-violation. Second the thesis has a focus on the presumption of innocence under article 6 paragraph two and how Sweden and the Swedish Courts reflect the presumption of innocence in their law and practice, examined through Swedish case law. Thirdly the thesis examines the effect the growing use of AI and algorithmic tools in criminal sentencing has on the presumption of innocence which is analysed through a case study as well as numerous journal articles. The thesis primarily applies the legal analytical method with elements of the legal dogmatic method and together with dif-ferent materials examines examine the three research questions presented. The thesis concludes that article 6 contains numerous rights and guarantees and could therefore be seen as an article with a broad scope of application. Further it finds that the presumption of innocence is not only reflected at an international level but also at a national level such as in Swedish Courts where it is considered in accordance with the Convention and relevant case law. Additionally, it finds that the growing use of AI comes with new legal challenges such as problems with discrimination and bias as well as transparency and accuracy. The thesis there-fore concluded that despite the new challenges emerging the presumption of innocence remains an important principle which ensures that accused individuals are tried before the law with the same starting point, namely that they are innocent until proven guilty.