“It notes in this connection that in assessing evidence, the Court has adopted the
standard of proof “beyond reasonable doubt” However, it has never been its
purpose to borrow the approach of the national legal systems that use that standard.
Its role is not to rule on criminal guilt or civil liability but on Contracting States’
responsibility under the Convention. The specificity of its task under Article 19 of
the Convention to ensure the observance by the Contracting States of their
engagement, to secure the fundamental rights enshrined in the Convention,
conditions its approach to the issues of evidence and proof. In the proceedings
before the Court, there are no procedural barriers to the admissibility of evidence
or pre-determined formulae for its assessment. It adopts the conclusions that are, in
its view, supported by the free evaluation of all evidence, including such inferences
as may flow from the facts and the parties' submissions. According to its established
case-law, proof may follow from the coexistence of sufficiently strong, clear and
concordant inferences or of similar unrebutted presumptions of fact. Moreover, the
level of persuasion necessary for reaching a particular conclusion and, in this
connection, the distribution of the burden of proof are intrinsically linked to the
specificity of the facts, the nature of the allegation made and the Convention right
at stake.”
This Court adopts this approach as appropriate.
In the absence of any convincing evidence from the defense, this court is of the view
that the alleged seizure of the Plaintiffs certificates for eight (8) years is unjustifiable,
unwarranted, unnecessary, and disproportionate and has not been proved to pursue
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