Mancato contro-esame dei testimoni a carico e iniquità del processo penale

This is a note to the judgment in the case Faysal Pamuk v. Turkey (application no. 430/13), rendered by the European Court of Human Rights. The contribution explores the violation of Article 6 §§ 1 (right to a fair trial) and 3 (d) (right to obtain attendance and examination of witnesses) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The case concerned Mr Pamuk’s trial on terrorism-related charges, in particular the use of evidence that had been given in other jurisdictions in the absence of Mr Pamuk or his counsel following letters of request. The Court found in particular that letters of request and examining witnesses in other jurisdictions could not be considered an adequate method of ensuring a fair trial in the circumstances of the present case. Accordingly, this had substantially hindered the defence in testing the reliability of their evidence and had, in the circumstances of the present case, tainted the overall fairness of the proceedings. The note provides an analysis of the judgment as well as an evaluation of "the sole or decisive rule" in the light of States' obligations to adopt positive measures to grant the accused the possibility of cross-examination.