Brussels, 11/05/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 28 April the Commission launched a Green Paper on the presumption of innocence, in view of clarifying what it means, how it is interpreted in Member States and to explain what rights stem from it. Based on the European Convention for safeguarding human rights and fundamental freedoms and the European court of Human Rights' jurisprudence, the Commission has listed a number of constitutive rights pertaining to the presumption of innocence, such as the right to remain silent, the right against self-incrimination and the fact that the burden of proof should ordinarily rest with the prosecution. The Green Paper illustrates the context in which the Commission locates the question and formulates an initial hypothesis based on fundamental elements that can make up the basis of the presumption of innocence throughout the European Union and on the rights resulting from it. Responses to the Green Papers will enable the Commission to devise a common foundation for rights in view of proposing a framework decision on guarantees linked to the administration of evidence as announced in the Hague programme.