Improperly Obtained Evidence in Anglo-American and Continental Law

Dimitrios Giannoulopoulos, Professor of Law at Goldsmiths, University of London, will be discussing his recently published book 'Improperly Obtained Evidence in Anglo-American and Continental Law.'

An audio recording of this event is available to listen to on Soundcloud

Prof Giannoulopoulos’ book offers an extensive cosmopolitan, cross-cultural insight into the perennial controversy over the use of improperly obtained evidence in criminal trials. In his presentation, Prof Giannoulopoulos will concentrate on the applications of the ‘rights thesis’ (the idea of excluding evidence to protect constitutional or human rights) to contemporary debates on improperly obtained evidence. This seminal, rights-centred, approach to excluding improperly obtained evidence was originally developed by Oxford’s Vinerian Professor of English Law (from 1997 to 2013), and now Emeritus Professor, Andrew Ashworth, over forty years ago. Prof Giannoulopoulos’ book develops a defence of, and attempts to reinvigorate, Prof Ashworth’s thesis, arguing that there is significant scope for Anglo–American and Continental legal systems to place a renewed emphasis on it, particularly in relation to confessional evidence obtained in violation of custodial interrogation rights; this is principally because we can locate an emerging rapprochement, and unique potential for European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence to build consensus, in this respect. In marked contrast, remaining divergence with regard to evidence obtained by privacy violations means there is little momentum to adopt a reinvigorated rights thesis more widely.

Professor Dimitrios Giannoulopoulos holds the Inaugural Chair in Law, and is the Head of the Law Department, at Goldsmiths, University of London. He has leading expertise in how human rights norms on criminal justice are applied in national jurisdictions across different legal cultures, and has published widely on exclusionary rules, police interrogation, confessions and suspects’ rights, evidence obtained in violation of the right to privacy and the application of ECHR jurisprudence in the domestic criminal process. In recent years, Prof Giannoulopoulos has also developed a strong interest in the impact of Brexit on human rights, drawing on his cross-cultural research and public engagement work. He is the founder and director of the Britain in Europe thinktank and the director of the Knowing Our Rights research project, which aims to raise awareness about the operation of the ECHR in the UK in the context of the debate on the repeal of the Human Rights Act and its replacement with a UK Bill of Rights. Since May 2019, Prof Giannoulopoulos has been leading on the creation of the new Department of Law at Goldsmiths, which draws heavily on the College’s rich heritage of promoting social awareness and social engagement, championing human rights and social justice.