| Abstract [eng] |
One of the most serious concerns among European countries and the EU is the protection of society against crime, especially transnational crime. For this reason, authorities, researchers, and practitioners analyze solutions that should enable them to deprive the perpetrators of crime of their profits in an effective way. Thus, the third chapter (“Evidence in Non-Conviction-Based Confiscation Proceedings”) analyzes one of the most pertinent issues in confiscation proceedings – the standard of evidence in non-conviction-based confiscation proceedings and its compatibility with human rights, in particular the presumption of innocence. This chapter analyzes the coherence of international rules in nonconviction- based confiscation with national, including constitutional, standards of limitations of the right to property. International and EU approaches to asset confiscation and the jurisprudence of supranational courts are characterized by the continuous expansion of the concept and scope of non-conviction-based confiscation. On the other hand, in order to achieve effective cooperation, states must also strive for coherence, not only in regulating the grounds for confiscation, but also in ensuring the equal protection of individual rights. This includes setting an appropriate standard of proof in non-conviction-based confiscation proceedings. An analysis of the jurisprudence of constitutional courts on extended confiscation suggests that national jurisprudence also seeks coherence with that of the ECtHR and the CJEU by, inter alia, setting a different standard of proof. Nevertheless, the tension between the rights of the individual and the state’s objective of recovering the proceeds of crime in non-convictionbased confiscation remains. |
