ABSTRACT
The aim of the chapter is to establish and assess, based on the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) case law, the common European standard of compensation for wrongful conviction. The legal basis for state liability for wrongful conviction was introduced at the European forum in 1988, by entry into force of Protocol No. 7 to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The analysis of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights concerning Article 3 of Protocol No. 7 allows us to draw the conclusion that this provision offers little chance for enhancing and developing a European standard of compensation for wrongful conviction. Unfortunately, mainly due to the weakness of this right, which is limited by many conditions and leaves a very wide margin of interpretation to national law, Article 3 of Protocol No. 7 has been successfully invoked in only one case decided by the ECtHR. However, as is argued in this chapter, “a miscarriage of justice” may also be the result of a serious breach of substantive or procedural law occurring in the course of criminal proceedings. Thus, damages caused by final conviction amounting to flagrant denial of justice may be compensated, relying on Article 5 para. 5 of the ECHR, but only with reference to those suffered as a result of enforcement of a penalty of imprisonment. This chapter offers an in-depth analysis of ECtHR case law referring to the right to compensation for wrongful conviction. It presents how this right is interpreted and whether and to what extent the Strasbourg Court is willing to play an active role in shaping its scope.
