BERNARD JUDGMENT 16 CONCURRING OPINION OF JUDGE BERNHARDT I voted with the majority in finding no violation of Article 6 of the Convention. However, I would have preferred the judgment to express misgivings on the part of the Court about the way in which the experts in the present case performed their duties. The excerpts from the expert opinions quoted in paragraphs 11 and 13 of the present judgment contain statements which are in my view unacceptable and hardly compatible with the task of a neutral and objective expert. Nevertheless, when considering all the elements of the case, I have come to the conclusion that these statements did not make the trial as a whole unfair. The defence had the opportunity to respond to and to comment on the experts’ opinions. It must also be assumed that all members of the Assize Court knew the specific role of experts in criminal proceedings and took their own decision in accordance with their own conviction and conscience.

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