RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL IN THE CONTEXT OF CLASSIFIED INFORMATION. A SURVEY IN THE LIGHT OF CCR’S CASE-LAW

Abstract

The paper intends to analyze the issue of respecting the right to a fair trial in the situation where the effectiveness of the defence depends on documents containing classified information. There is a delicate issue regarding the vulnerability of guarantees of the right to a fair trial in order to ensure the right of defense, given that the parties' lawyers should have access to all the evidence in the file. Obtaining an ORNISS certificate is the solution offered by law, but to really get one can be problematic. Based on various situations occurred during the proceedings, the whole legal regime of classified information and its influence on the conduct of the trial, in the qualitative requirements of fairness imposed by the Constitution and the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, have been subject to the constitutional review exercised by the CCR. This article aims to summarize the case-law of the Constitutional Court, drawing the appropriate conclusions from it, in order to find the most efficient way to harmonize the need to protect the national security by classifying certain pieces of information with the right to access to public information and with the constitutional and conventional imperative of respect for the right to a fair trial.

Keywords

• right to a fair trial
• classified information
• right to defence
• constitutional review
• constitutional case-law