77 2. Every person accused of a criminal offense has the right to be presumed innocent so long as his guilt has not been proven according to law. […] 153. The Court has indicated that Article 8(2) of the Convention requires that a person cannot be convicted unless there is clear evidence of his criminal liability. If the evidence presented is incomplete or insufficient, he must be acquitted, not convicted.147 In this respect, the Court has stated that the principle of presumption of innocence is founded upon the existence of judicial guarantees, by affirming the notion that a person is innocent until proven guilty.148 154. The Court considers that the right to presumption of innocence is an essential element for the effective exercise of the right to defense and accompanies the defendant throughout the proceedings until the judgment determining his guilt is final. This right implies that the defendant does not have to prove that he has not committed the offense of which he is accused, because the onus probandi is on those who have made the accusation. 155. As has been proved (supra para. 69(15)), on March 22, 1994, the judge of first instance declared that Mr. Canese had committed the offenses of injuria and slander and, in second instance, on November 4, 1997, the conviction for the offense of injuria was revoked and he was sentenced for slander (supra para. 69(20)). Subsequently, on December 11, 2002, the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of Paraguay absolved Mr. Canese of the offense of slander (supra para. 69(49)). 156. According to the provisions of Article 370 of the 1914 Penal Code, the offense of slander is committed by: […] any person who, before several persons gathered together or separately, but so that the information may be disseminated, or in a public document or by printed media, or in caricatures or drawings of any kind, distributed or shown to the public, shall attribute to another person: offenses subject to criminal proceedings without defining them, or subject to a private criminal proceedings, even though they are specific; or facts that could expose the other person to a disciplinary procedure or to public contempt or odium; or dishonesty or lack of morality that could cause considerable prejudice to the reputation, standing or interests of the person offended. 157. by: Article 372 of this Code established that the offense of injuria is committed […] any person who, with the exception of the aforementioned cases, shall insult, discredit, dishonor or slight another person, in writing or in action. […] Should an injurious statement be published in printed matter or a newspaper, the criminal offender shall be punished with from one to five months’ imprisonment and a fine of from four hundred to one thousand pesos. 158. These norms of the 1914 Penal Code which regulated the offenses of slander and injuria filed against Mr. Canese did not include the truth or notoriety of the 147 Cf. Case of Cantoral Benavides, supra note 139, para. 120. 148 Cf. Case of Suárez-Rosero, supra note 140, para. 77.