Ethics and values - Kent Police

Student NotesNOT PROTECTIVELY MARKEDbeen unjustifiably interfered with.PLAN your actionsIn regards to your actions think about:P - proportionalityL - legalityA - accountabilityN - necessityEquality of ArmsThis principle underpins Article 6, the right to a fair trial. In its simplestform, equality of arms means the defence must be afforded areasonable opportunity to prepare and present their case, includingtheir evidence, under conditions which do not place them at adisadvantage with the prosecution (i.e. a level playing field).CriminalProcedure andInvestigationsAct 1996Equality of arms is provided by the law, for example in the CriminalProcedure and Investigations Act 1996. This Act specifies how thepolice record and preserve material obtained in the course of a criminalinvestigation for the benefit of both the prosecution and the defence.Margin of AppreciationThis is an international doctrine, which allows the European Court ofHuman Rights to judge that domestic institutions (including domesticcourts) are better placed than an international court in assessingparticular national situations. In other words, it is the leeway that theCourt can give to states so that their own political and culturaltraditions are respected.Legal obligationSection 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 places a legal obligation onpublic authorities, by making it unlawful for them to act in a way whichis incompatible with certain Articles of the European Convention onIND01(AS)_EthicsandValues_SNVersion 1.01 NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED Page 58 of 82© College of Policing Limited 2013