  It may seem from the above that criminal proceedings are tilted heavily in favour of the accusing side. But the criminal law also confers rights on the accused that help protect \(D\) against her accusers (Ashworth and Zedner 2010, 82). These typically include the right to be informed of the accusations in question, the right to confidential access to a lawyer, and the privilege against self-incrimination. Most important of all, perhaps, is the right to be tried before an independent court that respects the presumption of innocence—that requires the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that \(D\) committed the crime.