“The principles that the prosecution must prove the guilt of the prisoner and that a defendant will be judged by their peers is part of the common law of England’. Have these principles been eroded in light of Woolmington v DPP and Lord Chief Judges decision to use Sections 44 and 46 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003?”

In criminal proceedings, the legal burden of proving any fact which is essential to the prosecutions case rests upon and remains with the prosecution for the duration of the trial. Generally, the defendant in the proceedings will bear no legal burden at all in relation to the essential ingredients of the offence. The reasoning behind this is that all persons are entitled to a fair trial where the presumption of innocence is a fundamental right. It would be unfair to expect a person accused of a crime to disprove the accusation, with the result that if he fails to do so he faces conviction and punishment….(short extract)