BERNARD JUDGMENT OF 23 APRIL 1998 14 link between the disorders found and the offences he stood accused of. They were also intended to assess how dangerous he was. The two specialists appointed by the investigating judge logically had to start from the working hypothesis that the applicant had committed the crimes which had given rise to the prosecution. Their conclusions were filed on 13 July 1988 and 24 June 1989, during the investigation stage (see paragraphs 11 and 13 above), and contained the comments complained of. Mr Bernard himself had moreover requested the second expert opinion and his request for a third had been refused. At the hearing before the Indictment Division of the Lyons Court of Appeal on 11 October 1991 the applicant had the opportunity to challenge the expert reports and ask for them to be declared null and void, but the judgment of that date committing him for trial did not mention any attempt to do so by his lawyers. 39. At Mr Bernard’s trial in the Rhône Assize Court on 9 June 1992 his counsel lodged an interlocutory application after Dr Guggiari and Dr Dumoulin had given evidence, but the court refused to declare their evidence inadmissible, on the ground that the phrases challenged did not prove that they had prejudged the merits of the case or expressed their opinion as to the defendant’s guilt. In its interlocutory decision of 12 June 1992 the court noted that the experts had always taken care to specify that they were stating their conclusions concerning offences which the applicant denied committing (see paragraph 17 above). In addition, the record of the hearings shows that all the witnesses called by Mr Bernard were heard and that his counsel had the opportunity to make observations after each witness had given evidence. On 31 March 1993 the Court of Cassation dismissed the applicant’s argument that the statements in issue had infringed the principle of the presumption of innocence, on the ground that the comments referred to did not reveal any breach of the oath sworn by the experts to assist the court on their honour and according to their conscience, as provided for in Article 168 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (see paragraph 20 above). 40. The file shows that the applicant’s conviction was based on all the charges preferred and on the evidence obtained during the investigation and discussed at the hearings in the Assize Court. That being so, the Court cannot regard the statements in issue, which formed only one part of the evidence submitted to the jury, as contrary to the requirements of a fair trial and the presumption of innocence. 41. In conclusion, there has been no breach of Article 6 §§ 1 and 2.