24
JALLOH v. GERMANY JUDGMENT
the Convention. In view of its conclusion that there has been a violation of
that provision, it finds that no separate issue arises under Article 8.
III. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 6 OF THE CONVENTION
87. The applicant further considered that his right to a fair trial
guaranteed by Article 6 of the Convention had been infringed by the use at
his trial of the evidence obtained by the administration of the emetics. He
claimed in particular that his right not to incriminate himself had been
violated. The relevant part of Article 6 provides:
“In the determination of ... any criminal charge against him, everyone is entitled to a
fair ... hearing ... by [a] ... tribunal...”
88. The Government contested this view.
A. The parties’ submissions
1. The applicant
89. In the applicant’s view, the administration of the emetics was illegal
and violated Articles 3 and 8 of the Convention. As the evidence thereby
obtained had formed the sole basis for his conviction, the criminal
proceedings against him had been unfair.
90. The applicant further argued that by forcing him against his will to
produce evidence of an offence the authorities had violated his right not to
incriminate himself and therefore his right to a fair trial. The principle
against self-incrimination was not limited to statements obtained by
coercion, but extended to objects so obtained. Moreover, the facts of his
case were distinguishable from those in Saunders v. the United Kingdom
(17 December 1996, Reports 1996-VI). Unlike the cases of blood or DNA
testing referred to by the Court in its judgment in that case, the
administration of emetics entailed the use of chemical substances that
provoked an unnatural and involuntary activity of the body in order to
obtain the evidence. His refusal to swallow the emetics was overcome by
the use of considerable force. Therefore, the evidence that had been
obtained had not existed independently of his will and he had been forced to
contribute actively to his own conviction. The administration of emetics was
comparable to the administration of a truth serum to obtain a confession, a
practice which was expressly forbidden by Article 136a of the Code of
Criminal Procedure. He referred to the judgment of the Frankfurt (Main)
Court of Appeal of 11 October 1996 in support of his contention.
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