Guarantee of the Right to Silence and of the Right not to Contribute to One’s Own Incrimination in Romanian Law

The right to silence enjoys increased attention from the Romanian legislator and is currently regulated by the Criminal Procedure Code (Law no. 135/2010), which entered into force on 1st February 2014. The right to silence (to remain silent) and the right not to contribute to one’s own incrimination (the privilege against self-incrimination) are the implicit procedural guarantees of the right to a fair trial, which results from the case law of the European Court of Justice within the meaning of Article 6 paragraph 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. They are also stipulated in the field of preventive measures. For the first time, the New Code of Criminal Procedure also regulates the witness’s right not to incriminate himself. The paper contains also some considerations about the purpose of the privilege of silence within the meaning of the ECHR.