释义 |
adverse inference An inference that may be drawn contrary to a defendant’s interest in a criminal case under sections 34–37 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. The Act provides that the court may draw such inferences as appear proper from the defendant’s failure to mention facts when questioned or charged, his silence at trial, his failure to account for objects, substances, or marks when arrested, and his failure or refusal to account for his presence at a particular place when arrested. The European Court of Human Rights has held that adverse inferences are not per se a breach of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to a fair trial (John Murray v United Kingdom (1996) 22 EHHR 29). |