Regina v Webster [2010] EWCA Crim 2819; [2010] WLR (D) 216

“The reverse onus of proof which s 2 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1916 effected on a prosecution for an offence contrary to s 1(2) of the Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act 1889, placing on the defendant the legal burden of disproving guilt was no longer necessary and the means of imposition were unreasonable and disproportionate, and so it unjustifiably interfered with the presumption of innocence provided by art 6(2) of he Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. It should therefore be read down pursuant to s 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998 so as to impose a merely evidential burden on the defendant.”

WLR Daily, 6th December 2010

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

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