Paris (AFP)

Former Minister Elisabeth Guigou calls for better education on the functioning of justice, better train actors in connection with the judicial institution and better regulate social networks, in his report on the presumption of innocence published on Friday.

Mrs. Guigou, at the origin of the law of June 2000 reinforcing the presumption of innocence, submitted Thursday her report to the Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti, who had asked him in April to "draw up a report of the attacks" on the presumption of innocence, and to make "any useful, legislative or practical proposal" likely to ensure its respect.

"These attacks come from everyone, all actors in society are guilty from this point of view: especially since the emergence of social networks," Ms. Guigou told AFP, drawing up a "very dangerous" observation. for the rule of law.

The 90-page report identifies four avenues for reflection: better educating citizens in the main principles of law and the functioning of justice, better explaining its action, better training justice actors and strengthening criminal protection.

"Mistrust of the judicial authority, linked to a strong ignorance of its functioning, its daily activity, its successes but also its difficulties, constitutes a breeding ground for attacks on the presumption of innocence", indicates the report, consulted by AFP.

The authors of the report call, for example, to raise citizens' awareness of the fundamental principles of law, and in particular the presumption of innocence, through multimedia advertising spots but also at school and during events.

"Social networks are as many sounding boards for useful information but also rumors whose consequences on the reputation and honor of people can be devastating," said the document.

It is proposed, for example, to examine the possibility of sanctioning infringements of the presumption of innocence by basing themselves on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union to regulate social networks.

In addition to these priority areas, the report asks about the use of pre-trial detention, which is "likely to seriously compromise" the presumption of innocence, but also on the reversibility of the status of indicted person when "serious or concordant indications arise. disintegrate ".

"Several of these proposals call for a strengthening of the human but also material resources of justice which have been lacking for too long," he concludes, hoping that his reflections will "usefully feed" the work that will soon be initiated, in particular in the context of of the States General of Justice ", launched Monday in Poitiers.

According to Ms. Guigou, the Minister of Justice was "very interested".

"He made a commitment to study all the proposals of the report, to make sure that it can be disseminated and many of its proposals implemented", underlined the former Minister of Justice, who is hopeful that the report "does not end up at the bottom of a drawer".

The working group, made up of magistrates, lawyers and journalists, interviewed more than 80 people for four months.

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