ECHR urge McCanns to reach friendly settlement with Gonçalo Amaral.

[G-Unit]

Yes, I remember that. However, I haven't found why that aspect seemingly no longer counted.

The SC judges mentioned it;

We therefore consider that freedom of expression does not either have to yield to the invoked functional duty borne by the respondent, reason why his conduct was not illicit in the terms taken into account in the first instance sentence.
Page 71 http://miscarriageofjustice.co/index.php?topic=7937.15
 

[misty]

Hmm. In one sense, it could be argued that the criminal proceedings hadn't been concluded, but suspended. Hence the grey area: none of the arguidos had been charged, and therefore the presumption of innocence (criminal sense) didn't apply and so continued to be (an often lucrative) free-for-all under the umbrella of freedom of expression.

However, freedoms come with responsibilities. IMO, it would be worth rereading the legal discussion in McCann family vs Amaral et al Judgment Verdict - April 27, 2015

http://www.gerrymccannsblogs.co.uk/v01.htm

Surely if the criminal proceedings had been suspended rather than concluded then everything contained therein would have remained covered by judicial secrecy. It's important to remember that whilst the case continued under judicial secrecy without charges being laid, none of the arguidos had the legal right to publicly defend themselves against PJ accusations leaked into the media.

ETA from the SC ruling http://miscarriageofjustice.co/index.php?topic=7937.msg383248#msg383248

"Still, the facts at stake had already been made public by the judicial authority and widely debated, both nationally and internationally. Moreover the investigation was already closed."

[Brietta]

You dont know the outcome yet..your acting as if it is all cut and dried when it isn't. B


Relying on Articles 6 §§ 1 and 2, 8 and 10 § 2 of the Convention, the applicants asserted that the allegations made by GA in the book and the documentary in question had infringed their right to respect for their private life and their right to the presumption of innocence. They complain that the domestic courts failed to weigh the interests at stake in accordance with the criteria set out in the Court's case-law.

Why the hell should they have respect for there private life - when they created it in the first place. imo.

Did we need to know about kmc private life what she wrote in her book.

You don't know what would have happened if G.A. would have had more time.  Seems someone made sure didn't.

If, imo G.A hadnt been such a thorn in the mccs side in the first place ..

I doubt the book would have ever been as popular as it is.

The mcs themselves I believe promoted it ...when they were so desperate to have it banned imo

Why the hell should they have respect for there private life - when they created it in the first place. imo.
The simple reason is that under European law Kate and Gerry McCann are entitled to a private life just as is any other human being.

Did we need to know about kmc private life what she wrote in her book.
Kate wrote her book as a vehicle for the truth and telling it as it is; says rather a lot that you appear to be sensitive about the naming of body parts and the effect of trauma on a person's sex drive being relayed first hand.

You don't know what would have happened if G.A. would have had more time.  Seems someone made sure didn't.
Amaral made certain that he 'didn't have more time' when his intemperance ensured that he was sacked from Madeleine's case.  His incompetence had ensured that he had taken the investigation into a dead end: therefore I do know what would have happened had he remained in charge and so it seems did his bosses who lost no time in getting rid unfortunately not in time to undo or rectify his elementary mistakes.

It really didn't require the paranoid conspiracy theories he has continually promoted to explain away his many failures when it can all be covered in one word ~ incompetence.

If, imo G.A hadnt been such a thorn in the mccs side in the first place ..
I'm sorry - I have absolutely no idea what you are saying here but I don't think it was ever Amaral's job to be a thorn in anyone's side; I thought he was supposed to be looking for a missing child.

I doubt the book would have ever been as popular as it is.

The mcs themselves I believe promoted it ...when they were so desperate to have it banned imo
The book was libellous from first page to last but more importantly was interfering with the investigation into Madeleine's case as well as interfering with the possibility that she might be found and returned to them.
               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Be my guest if you would ignore a book - documentaries - a huge self opinionated media drive reflecting lies and ineptitude as virtues - and ultimately a movie making similar slurs against you.  No normal person would or should be expected to be subjected to that just as no normal person would have been expected to make slurs like that in the first instance.


Maybe it is a Portuguese thing since Amaral has been backed up by the Portuguese Supreme court judges; I think it will be interesting to see what the outcome of the judgement of the ECHR will be since it is yet another achievement for human rights that the case will be heard despite the crowing among sceptics that would never happen.

[G-Unit]

Surely if the criminal proceedings had been suspended rather than concluded then everything contained therein would have remained covered by judicial secrecy. It's important to remember that whilst the case continued under judicial secrecy without charges being laid, none of the arguidos had the legal right to publicly defend themselves against PJ accusations leaked into the media.

ETA from the SC ruling http://miscarriageofjustice.co/index.php?topic=7937.msg383248#msg383248

"Still, the facts at stake had already been made public by the judicial authority and widely debated, both nationally and internationally. Moreover the investigation was already closed."

There were no criminal procedings because there were no arrests, charges, trial or judgement. There was an investigation which was unable to progress because witnesses refused to cooperate in a reconstitution. There was always the possibility that it could be reopened and continue if new evidence emerged, however.

[Brietta]

If people decide that a particular crime has been committed and use every media available to them to broadcast their opinion then surely those who disagree with them should be allowed the same freedom to express their opinions?

Civilised countries use lawfully constituted courts and the rule of law to deal with that sort of thing.

What you are advocating is the law of the jungle.

[Carana]

Surely if the criminal proceedings had been suspended rather than concluded then everything contained therein would have remained covered by judicial secrecy. It's important to remember that whilst the case continued under judicial secrecy without charges being laid, none of the arguidos had the legal right to publicly defend themselves against PJ accusations leaked into the media.

ETA from the SC ruling http://miscarriageofjustice.co/index.php?topic=7937.msg383248#msg383248

"Still, the facts at stake had already been made public by the judicial authority and widely debated, both nationally and internationally. Moreover the investigation was already closed."

Criminal proceedings in the sense of the case thus far (the investigation and the prosecutor's evaluation) into a crime against the child. In suspending it, the arguidos were relieved of that status, but, sadly, so was the investigation.

[Brietta]

There were no criminal procedings because there were no arrests, charges, trial or judgement. There was an investigation which was unable to progress because witnesses refused to cooperate in a reconstitution. There was always the possibility that it could be reopened and continue if new evidence emerged, however.

I think it is simplistic drivel to imagine a reconstitution at that late date was going to change one iota of the final outcome and I think that was as plain as the nose on his face as far as Rebelo was concerned.

Quite simply the Judicial police had ploughed the wrong furrow and wasted a lot of precious time in doing so.

That is easily demonstrated by the amount of attention given to the Mccanns and their friends phone traffic to the exclusion of all else.

Brueckner who at that time was a convicted paedophile who had made his home in Luz and was known about in Portugal as a result of being extradited to Germany wasn't looked at despite his profile and his phone being activated.
According to Amaral the PJ visited him??
Did they have a word or did they miss him.  And if they missed him - how many others of his ilk did they miss. 

It wasn't until the advent of Scotland Yard that anyone bothered with connecting the phone pings of three home grown burglars with the possibility of being connected to Madeleine's case. They didn't have access to Brueckner's file - but the Portuguese did, had they bothered because if he was visited as Amaral affirms there must have been a reason for that.

The information was there in 2007 it just was not accessed properly except in the instance of the McCann party and Murat.

[Vertigo Swirl]

You dont know the outcome yet..your acting as if it is all cut and dried when it isn't. B


Relying on Articles 6 §§ 1 and 2, 8 and 10 § 2 of the Convention, the applicants asserted that the allegations made by GA in the book and the documentary in question had infringed their right to respect for their private life and their right to the presumption of innocence. They complain that the domestic courts failed to weigh the interests at stake in accordance with the criteria set out in the Court's case-law.

Why the hell should they have respect for there private life - when they created it in the first place. imo.

Did we need to know about kmc private life what she wrote in her book.

You don't know what would have happened if G.A. would have had more time.  Seems someone made sure didn't.

If, imo G.A hadnt been such a thorn in the mccs side in the first place ..

I doubt the book would have ever been as popular as it is.

The mcs themselves I believe promoted it ...when they were so desperate to have it banned imo

The book had already been a best seller and widely reported on throughout the western world before the McCanns took Amaral to court so how do you work that one out?  What you seem to be  saying is that if the McCanns hadn’t sued Amaral the book wouldn’t have been as successful but I’ll wager a thousand pounds that you are unable to back that claim up with anything remotely resembling an actual proven fact.

[Vertigo Swirl]

There were no criminal procedings because there were no arrests, charges, trial or judgement. There was an investigation which was unable to progress because witnesses refused to cooperate in a reconstitution. There was always the possibility that it could be reopened and continue if new evidence emerged, however.

This is bullcrap of the highest order.  Are you saying that unless a suspect cooperates in a criminal investigation into their own alleged crimes the police are simply forced to give up investigating them? Gimme a break already.

[John]

There were no criminal procedings because there were no arrests, charges, trial or judgement. There was an investigation which was unable to progress because witnesses refused to cooperate in a reconstitution. There was always the possibility that it could be reopened and continue if new evidence emerged, however.

This has always concerned me that the tapas group decided between themselves not to cooperate with the Portuguese police in respect of a reconstitution of the events which occurred the night Madeleine disappeared.

What were they scared of exactly?

[jassi]

This has always concerned me that the tapas group decided between themselves not to cooperate with the Portuguese police in respect of a reconstitution of the events which occurred the night Madeleine disappeared.

What were they scared of exactly?

The truth - IMO

[Vertigo Swirl]

This has always concerned me that the tapas group decided between themselves not to cooperate with the Portuguese police in respect of a reconstitution of the events which occurred the night Madeleine disappeared.

What were they scared of exactly?

unwittingly providing the police with any scrap of ammunition to enable them to press charges on their friends I would imagine.  That plus the horror of once more being thrust under the media and police microscope knowing that submitting to it would do absolutely nothing to help locate Madeleine.

[Carana]

The SC judges mentioned it;

We therefore consider that freedom of expression does not either have to yield to the invoked functional duty borne by the respondent, reason why his conduct was not illicit in the terms taken into account in the first instance sentence.
Page 71 http://miscarriageofjustice.co/index.php?topic=7937.15

Thanks, but I'm none the wiser.

p. 41 McCann family vs Amaral et al Judgment Verdict - April 27, 2015 http://www.gerrymccannsblogs.co.uk/v01.htm

In the Allen vs UK case, the ECHR emphasized the importance of the presumption after the acquittal or dismissal of the criminal investigation, explaining that this principle prevents suspects or defendants in such cases are treated as if they were in fact responsible for the criminal offences of which they were accused and stressing that without this second level of protection – the level of full respect for acquittal or archiving – the presumption of innocence would remain illusory or merely ideal. ( 27 ) Likewise, the presumption of innocence requires that the absence of guilt that emanates from it is respected, after the acquittal or dismissal, in all legal proceedings of any kind and by any authority that comes into contact with these facts [idem Allen vs United Kingdom].

In this case, the claimants Kate and Gerald MacCann never ceased to benefit from this presumption of innocence and from the behaviour imperative that this presumption places on national judicial and justice authorities and on all the civil servants and agents.



Then, pp 43-44 discuss the "duty of reserve" of former officers.


According to the notice of the Attorney General Department's advisory Council on February 16, 2006 (Esteves Remedio, in www.ministeriopublico.pt )
the legal relationship of retirement is, compared to the legal relationship of public employment, a relationship less intense where there is a blurring of the ties between the retired and the Administration, translated in the reduction of rights and duties. There is even so a "bond to the civil service", which materialises in conserving the titles and the position of the function exercised and the rights and duties that are not dependent on activity status "(emphasis added). The same note concluded that "the retired remains subject to duties of private conduct translated in particular in the abstention of practice of facts integrators of crimes that have a relevant connection with the functions previously carried out and thus affect actually the functioning of the service or in a serious way the dignity and the prestige of the function or of the Administration (idem).

[Mr Gray]

This has always concerned me that the tapas group decided between themselves not to cooperate with the Portuguese police in respect of a reconstitution of the events which occurred the night Madeleine disappeared.

What were they scared of exactly?

They were scared that the PJ truly thought they had proof  that Maddie died in the apartment... GA actually said he had proof...which could result in them all being arrested and held on remand.. Quite frightening

[Carana]

This has always concerned me that the tapas group decided between themselves not to cooperate with the Portuguese police in respect of a reconstitution of the events which occurred the night Madeleine disappeared.

What were they scared of exactly?

a) Being subjected to a hostile media circus and b) potentially stitched up?