General Assembly Resolution # 13
Fair Criminal Trial
A resolution to improve worldwide human and civil rights.
ACKNOWLEDGING that justice, free of corruption and prejudice, is a crucial factor in the wellbeing of society,
CONVINCED that an agreement upon basic legal rights will furthermore enhance synchronization in international trade, business and tourism,
ENACTS clear-cut legal standards of fairness and impartiality of trial.
PRE-TRIAL RIGHTS
1. The arrested shall have the right to be visited by and to correspond with persons of their choice, if that person in question consents, and shall be given adequate opportunity to communicate with the outside world - subject to reasonable conditions and restrictions as specified by law or lawful regulations.
2. In the knowledge of the importance of impartiality in Pre-Trial procedures, those responsible for the detainment of the arrested must provide sanitary conditions and basic living needs for the arrested.
i) Basic living needs includes, but is not limited to, access to toilets/showers, and enough food, water, shelter and rest to keep the arrested in their normal healthy state.
3. The arrested has the right to know the reason of the arrest, with or without charges, within twenty-four hours of being arrested.
4. All persons are entitled to call upon the assistance of a lawyer, not already involved in the current trial proceedings, of their choice to protect and establish their rights and to defend them in all stages of criminal proceedings.
i) If the arrested lacks readily available finances/assets to afford legal assistance, it becomes the governments liability to ensure that the arrested acquires a reasonably adequate defense counsel, before the trial commences - as provided by, but not limited to, government funding or a charitable organization.
THE HEARING
1. The accused must be granted, without discrimination, the right of equal access to a court.
2. The accused has the right to a trial without undue delay.
i) Undue delay may occur between the time the accused is arrested, and the time when the judgment is passed and may be caused by any negligence on the part of the prosecutor(s)/defendant(s) in the gathering of evidence, on the part of the government and/or on the part of the court in administering the case. The assessment of which will depend upon the circumstances of the case, which includes, but is not limited to, the cases complexity, and the conduct of the accused and/or the authorities.
3. The accused has the right to a fair and impartial hearing.
4. The accused has the right to a public hearing.
5. The accused has the right to a competent and impartial tribunal that exercises both procedural and adjudicatorial fairness.
6. The accused has the right to adequate time, that is, enough time to have access to evidence according to the complexity of the case, and adequate facilities, that is, the accused and defense counsel must be granted appropriate information, files and documents necessary for the preparation of a defense and that the defendant must be provided with facilities enabling communication, in confidentiality, with the defense counsel.
7. The accused has the right to defend oneself in person or through legal counsel.
8. The accused has the right to have a witness examined by legal counsel on their behalf, if the witness consents.
9. The accused has the right to understand the proceedings and to be understood through means of an interpreter translating in their native form of communication.
10. The accused may waive any of the above rights.
Passed: | |
For: | 6,237 | 75.5% |
Against: | 2,027 | 24.5% |