IV – WITNESSES AND OTHER NON-SUSPECTS A. THE ISSUE Practitioners frequently report that significant damage can be done to the defence of a suspect or accused person by various informal forms of questioning which may happen prior to their formally acquiring that status. In particular, incriminating statements may be made by the person in an informal context, which are either then formally held against him if this is permissible, or which may at least influence the development of the investigation going forward. B. THE ECHR BASELINE 1. The concept of being ‘charged’ Article 6 of the ECHR confers rights upon a person at the pre-trial stage in order to ensure the fairness of the proceedings as a whole. The standard statement is that these guarantees become applicable when a person becomes ‘charged’ within the meaning of Article 6. This may be at a point before they formally become a suspect within the meaning of national law. The ECtHR states: That concept is “autonomous”; it has to be understood within the meaning of the Convention and not solely within its meaning in domestic law. It may thus be defined as “the official notification given to an individual by the competent authority of an allegation that he has committed a criminal offence”, a definition that also corresponds to the test whether “the situation of the [suspect] has been substantially affected” (…) A “charge” may in some instances take the form of other measures which carry the implication of such an allegation and which likewise substantially affect the situation of the suspect (…). The legislation of the State concerned is certainly relevant, but it provides no more than a starting point (…)The prominent place held in a democratic society by the right to a fair trial favours a "substantive", rather than a "formal", conception of the "charge" referred to by Article 6; it impels the Court to look behind the appearances and examine the realities of the procedure in question in order to determine whether there has been a "charge" within the meaning of Article 6 (…). In particular, the applicant's situation under the domestic legal rules in force has to be examined in the light of the object and purpose of Article 6, namely the protection of the rights of the defence.64 2. Witnesses who are / become suspects Applying the above approach, the ECtHR has moved towards recognising that, when the authorities have plausible reasons to suspect a person, they become ‘charged’ within this definition, such that they acquire defence rights. A recent re-statement of this is the following: 64 Case of Mikolajova v. Slovakia, App. no 4479/03 (Judgment of 18 January 2011), paragraphs 40-41. 43