The European Court of Human Rights by a decision on March 9, 2023 restated that, in the performance of their duties, members of the court must not start from the preconceived belief that the charged person committed the act as accused and that doubt must benefit the accused.
He also recalled how the presumption of innocence, while regarded first of all as a procedural guarantee, serves a second function, preventing those benefiting from an acquittal or dismissal from being treated by public officials or authorities as if they were actually guilty of the crime charged against them.