THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ON THE NATURE AND CAUSE OF THE ACCUSATION AND THE DEFENDANT’S RIGHT TO PREPARE ITS DEFENSE UNDER ARTICLE 6 OF THE ECHR

Abstract

This article analyses the minimum procedural guarantees for the defense in criminal proceedings
under Article 6 of the European Convention of the Human Rights (ECHR). The rights are called
"minimal" because they represent a lower limit, minimum guarantees for the protection of the
defendant in the dispute with the state, which rights must not be reduced. After all, otherwise, there
would be no approximate balance between the defendant and the state repressive apparatus in
criminal proceedings. The author reviews the right to information on the nature and cause of the
accusation and its correlation with the defendant's right to have adequate time and facilities for the
preparation of its defense as an integral right of the right to a fair trial. More specifically, the article
makes a critical analysis about the right to information about the charges in the investigation phase
of the criminal procedure and the reclassification of the charges - the amendment and extension of
the indictment in the phase of the main hearing in the criminal justice system of the Republic of
North Macedonia vis-à-vis the defendant’s right to prepare its defense through an overview of
domestic case-law and the judicial practice of the European Court of the Human Rights (ECtHR).