Ingredients of a Fair Trial (Basic Requirements)
Ingredients of
a Fair Trial (Basic Requirements)
Courts, in a criminal charge, must follow the “due
course of law” which has been interpreted to include the following ingredients,
inter alia.
(i)
The court must be independent and impartial.
(ii)
The accused must be adequately informed of the nature and
substance of charge.
(iii)
The accused must have the right to cross-examine the
prosecution witnesses and also to give evidence in his defense and to
assistance of a lawyer for his defense, at state expense. Where such assistance
required because of the seriousness of the charge and his lack of education.
(iv)
The accused shall have the presumption of innocence and the
onus of proving his guilt shall be on prosecution.
(v)
If person can’t be convicted on the basis of incriminating
statements made while he was in unlawful custody.
(vi)
A-non-minor offence must be tried by a jury.
The main ingredients of a fair trial are as follows.
-
Right of access to a court or tribunal,
-
Right to equality of arms,
-
Right to hearing by a competent court,
Right to hearing by an independent and impartial
tribunal.
-
Reasonable opportunity of presenting the parties case
-
Reasonable opportunity of an accused to defend himself.
From the above mentioned ingredients of a fair trial
and from the international treaties and other documents related to a fair
trial, followings are the ingredients of a fair trial:
1 Right to Access to a Court or Tribunal
The right to access to a court is confined to the
enforcement of civil rights and obligations or matters relating to criminal
offences. In matters relating to administrative proceedings or right which can
not be classified as either civil or criminal, the right to assist is to
tribunal.
2 Right to equality of parties or the equality of
arms
This means the procedural equality of accused with the
prosecution, a denial of which would be a violation of the guarantee of the
fair trial. Where the public prosecutor has right to appear but the accused is
not given a right to be represented by a lawyer. As applied to criminal
proceedings, this means that there must be a procedural equality between the prosecutor
and the accused .It requires principle of non-discrimination or equal access to
the courts.
3 Right to hearing by a competent tribunal
It means that right to fair hearing cannot be
fulfilled unless there is a tribunal established by law, which has jurisdiction
to give effective relief to the aggrieved person. Right to fair and public
hearing seeks to the need of establishment of competent judiciary.
4 Right to an independent and impartial tribunal
It is indispensable that the rights proclaimed by
treaties, declaration or constitution cannot be implemented without the
independent and impartial judiciary. Independent and impartial judiciary has
the following:
a)
Independence:- The applicant cannot be assured of a fair
trial if
i.
The judge or tribunal is removable during the term of his
office except for misconduct.
ii.
Even a law which deprives a court of its judicial discretion
or seeks to exercise judicial power would offend ‘Due process’ or a
constitutional guarantee of separation of powers.
iii.
Another requirement is immunity from any legal liability for
acts done within jurisdiction. Thus independence means
1.
Independence from the executive or the legislature.
2.
Independence from either party
b)
Impartiality:- It implies that the tribunal should be free
from bias against the suitor. If is thus lost, in a criminal case, where the
functions of the prosecutor and judge are combined in the same person
5 Tribunal established by law
There can not be fair hearing/trial if the working of
tribunal is controlled by the executive. The tribunal must not only be set up
by law, but be allowed to function in accordance with established rules and
procedures.
6 Right to public hearing
Right to public hearing is guarantee of public trial
is a safeguard against any attempt to employ the courts as instruments of prosecution.
It has also been deduced from the guarantee of due process. The requirements of
fair trial is satisfied if
a)
The members of the public, and
b)
The press has an opportunity to attend the trial and to report
what they have observed.
In general, any undue publicity or the trial is likely
to prejudice the minds of witnesses and the jury and likely to impair a trial
and the right of the accused to a verdict based solely upon the evidence and
the relevant law.
7 Right to hearing within a reasonable time
Once the proceeding conditions have been satisfied the
next question, is whether such determination has taken place within a
reasonable time. The right of person arrested or detained on a criminal charge
to a trial within a reasonable time must be guaranteed. Speedy trial must be
guaranteed by the law. The principal is that when a person convicted by a court
is kept in prison in excess of the sentence awarded by the court it would no
longer be justified by law.It means right to be tried
without undue delay.
8 Right to proper defense
The most vital right of one accused in a criminal
case, under the Anglo American system is that of a proper defense against the accusation
brought against him.
There are two clauses of proper defense. The two clauses deal with right to
legal representation and legal aid.
a)
Legal Representation:- Where the accused prefers not to
defend himself personally, but through a counsel appointed by him
b)
Legal Aid:- The right to legal aid or assistance at the cost
of the state where the accused is unable to pay for a counsel.
9 Right to Interpreter
When the accused cannot understand or speak the
language used in the court he has right to have the free assistance of
interpreter. Every person may not know the language of proceedings therefore
right to interpreter is also important for fair trial.
10 Right to be informed of the accusation
It is an elementary rule of law that when a person is
arrested he must be informed with grounds of his arrest and charges against
him. An accused person’s right of information falls under two heads
a)
Pre charge stage- As soon as a person is arrested, he has the
right to be informed as to why he has been arrested. e.g. The reason for his
arrest.
b)
Post charge right – this has also two
a.
Though the information under the proceeding head must be
given immediately or promptly after the arrest, it does not require any
specific charge but refers to the ground for arrest in general terms.
b.
The framing of a charge or accusation against the arrested
person for trial gives him another right viz. the right to be informed of the
specific offence with which he is charged with necessary particulars.
11 Right to opportunity to make a proper and full defense
The fundamental rule of a fair trial in a criminal case
is that he must have all the guarantees necessary for his defense against the
charge or accusation made against him. This basic rule has certain corollaries,
without which, it can not be held that he has been an opportunity of making a
full and effective defense. These corollaries are
i)
The accused is to be given adequate time and facilities for
the preparation of his defense.
ii)
The right to have an interpreter where the accused does not
understand the language of the court.
iii)
An opportunity of making his defense requires
a.
That the trial must take place in the presence of the accused
of his legal representative
b.
That the accused shall be permitted to defend himself in
person or a by a legal representative of his own choice.
c.
Right to examine and cross examines witness.
12 Presumption of innocence
Presumption of innocence is
another requirement of a fair trial. It means that-
a)
The onus to prove that the accused is guilty lies upon
prosecution and that court has to start with the assumption that the accused is
innocent until proved guilty.
b)
The prosecution is put to strict proof, so that if there is
any reasonable doubt in the mind of the court upon the evidence adduced by the
prosecution, the accused is entitled to the benefit of doubt, and to be
acquitted.
Thus the ingredients of a fair trial are the right of
access to a court or tribunal, right to equality of arms, right to hearing by a
competent court, right to hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, tribunal
established by law, right to public hearing, right to hearing within a
reasonable time, right to proper defense, right to interpreter, right to be
informed of the accusation, right to opportunity to make a proper and full
defense and the presumption of innocence.