presumption of innocence
Also known as innocent until proven guilty, presumed innocence, presumed innocent
legal principle that one is presumed innocent until proven guilty
AI overview
The presumption of innocence is a legal principle that assumes a person is innocent until the government proves them guilty in court. This matters because it protects people from being punished or treated as criminals based on mere accusations, ensuring that the burden of proof falls on the accuser rather than on the accused to prove their innocence.
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- The law of presumptive evidence, including presumptions both of law and of fact, and the burden of proof both in civil and criminal cases, reduced to rules (IA lawofpresumptive00laws).pdf
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The presumption of innocence is a legal principle that every person accused of any crime is considered innocent until proven guilty. Under the presumption of innocence, the legal burden of proof is thus on the prosecution, which must present compelling evidence to the trier of fact (a judge or a jury). If the prosecution does not prove the charges true, then the person is acquitted of the charges. The prosecution must in most cases prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If reasonable doubt remains, the accused must be acquitted. The opposite system is a presumption of guilt.
In many countries and under many legal systems, including common law and civil law systems (not to be confused with the other kind of civil law, which deals with non-criminal legal issues), the presumption of innocence is a legal right of the accused in a criminal trial. It is also an international human right under the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 11.