Article 3 thereof that the action shall be open to all those who have a legitimate
interest in the success or rejection of a claim, subject to cases in which the law
grants the right to act to only persons determined by law to make or oppose a claim or
to defend a particular interest.
61. All the same, the exercise of this right must comply with conditions stemming
from legal capacity and quality. Thus, minors and adults who are incapable cannot go
to court themselves but can exercise such a right through their tutor or guardian.
Similarly, no one may seek justice if he has no personal or legitimate interest in it.
62. In practice, sometimes, the exhorbitant sureties fixed by judges in the criminal
complaint procedure with a claim for civil action or direct summons are likely to
discourage some litigants with low purchasing power.
b) The right to be presumed innocent
63. Article 18 of the Constitution establishes the principle of presumption of
innocence. Indeed, this text stipulates that, “any accused person or suspected person
is presumed innocent until his culpability has been established following the process
that offers them the guarantees necessary for their defence”.
64. This concept is the basis of Article 112 of the Criminal Procedure Code which
makes pre-trial detention an exceptional measure. It must however be recognised that,
in practice, it is rather the pre-trial detention which is the rule and liberty an
exceptional measure. As a result, presumption of innocence gives way to
“presumption of guilt”.
65. The different forms of training offered by way of capacity building of judges
under the national judicial modernisation programme and the capacity strengthening
of the Ministry of Justice, with the appointment of inspectors for courts and penal
institutions, have made it possible to control detentions and ensure compliance with
the presumption of innocence and Article 112 cited above.
66. The draft legislation on the Criminal Procedure Code has instituted the judge of
liberties and of the enforcement of penalties. The institution of the judge of liberties
and of the enforcement of penalties is a safeguard for complainace with this
constitutional principle.
67. According to the provisions of the Togolese fundamental law, “any accused
person or suspected person is presumed to be innocent until his culpability is
established following a trial which offers the person all the guarantees necessary for
their defence”. The judicial power, the custodian of the individual liberty, ensures
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