Appendix 3
International covenant on civil and political rights – Article 14
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.
Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall have the
right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.
In the determination of any criminal charge against him,
everyone shall be entitled to the following minimum guarantees, in full
equality:
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To be informed promptly and in detail in a language which he
understands of the nature and cause of the charge against him;
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To have adequate time and facilities for the preparation
of his defence and to communicate with counsel of his own choosing;
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To be tried without undue delay;
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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;
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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;
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To have the free assistance of an interpreter if he
cannot understand or speak the language used in court;
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Not to be compelled to testify against himself or to
confess guilt.
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.
Everyone convicted of a crime shall have the right to his
conviction and sentence being reviewed by a higher tribunal according to law.
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.
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.
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