Difference between revisions of "Right to a Fair Trial"

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* An accused shall be informed that he is entitled to have his case tried by another court. However, he has no right to select or determine by which other court the case is to be tried (s.191 CPC)
 
* An accused shall be informed that he is entitled to have his case tried by another court. However, he has no right to select or determine by which other court the case is to be tried (s.191 CPC)
 
===Rwanda===
 
 
* Every person accused of a crime shall be presumed innocent until his or her guilt has been conclusively proved in accordance with the law in a public and fair hearing in which all the necessary guarantees for defence have been made available. (Article 44 CPC, Article 19 Rwandan Constitution)
 
  
 
===Zimbabwe===
 
===Zimbabwe===

Revision as of 09:36, 4 May 2010

International Sources

International Convenant on Civil and Political Rights

Article 14

1. All persons shall be equal before the courts and tribunals. In the determination of any criminal charge against him, or of his rights and obligations in a suit at law, everyone shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law. The press and the public may be excluded from all or part of a trial for reasons of morals, public order (ordre public) or national security in a democratic society, or when the interest of the private lives of the parties so requires, or to the extent strictly necessary in the opinion of the court in special circumstances where publicity would prejudice the interests of justice; but any judgement rendered in a criminal case or in a suit at law shall be made public except where the interest of juvenile persons otherwise requires or the proceedings concern matrimonial disputes or the guardianship of children.

2. Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall have the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.

3. In the determination of any criminal charge against him, everyone shall be entitled to the following minimum guarantees, in full equality: (a) To be informed promptly and in detail in a language which he understands of the nature and cause of the charge against him;

(b) To have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence and to communicate with counsel of his own choosing;

(c) To be tried without undue delay;

(d) To be tried in his presence, and to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing; to be informed, if he does not have legal assistance, of this right; and to have legal assistance assigned to him, in any case where the interests of justice so require, and without payment by him in any such case if he does not have sufficient means to pay for it;

(e) To examine, or have examined, the witnesses against him and to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on his behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him;

(f) To have the free assistance of an interpreter if he cannot understand or speak the language used in court;

(g) Not to be compelled to testify against himself or to confess guilt.

4. In the case of juvenile persons, the procedure shall be such as will take account of their age and the desirability of promoting their rehabilitation. 5. Everyone convicted of a crime shall have the right to his conviction and sentence being reviewed by a higher tribunal according to law.

6. When a person has by a final decision been convicted of a criminal offence and when subsequently his conviction has been reversed or he has been pardoned on the ground that a new or newly discovered fact shows conclusively that there has been a miscarriage of justice, the person who has suffered punishment as a result of such conviction shall be compensated according to law, unless it is proved that the non-disclosure of the unknown fact in time is wholly or partly attributable to him.

7. No one shall be liable to be tried or punished again for an offence for which he has already been finally convicted or acquitted in accordance with the law and penal procedure of each country.

Article 15

1 . No one shall be held guilty of any criminal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time when the criminal offence was committed. If, subsequent to the commission of the offence, provision is made by law for the imposition of the lighter penalty, the offender shall benefit thereby.

2. Nothing in this article shall prejudice the trial and punishment of any person for any act or omission which, at the time when it was committed, was criminal according to the general principles of law recognized by the community of nations.

Examples of Right to fair trial

Cambodia

  • No prosecution or arrest is allowed that is not in accordance with the law (art.38 Constitution)

India

  • The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India. (art.14 Constitution)
  • For a trial to be fair, it must be an open court trial (s.327 CPC)
  • An accused shall be informed that he is entitled to have his case tried by another court. However, he has no right to select or determine by which other court the case is to be tried (s.191 CPC)

Zimbabwe

  • Every person is entitled to a fair hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial court (s (18)(9) Constitution)
  • Every person who is charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed to be innocent until he is proved or has pleaded guilty; (s. (18) (3) (a) Constitution)