Other Rights to fair hearing

[Olajire Deborah]

RIGHT TO FAIR HEARING

This right guarantees that in the determination of an individual’s civil rights and obligations a person shall be entitled to “a fair hearing within a reasonable time by a court or other tribunal established by law and constituted in such manner as to secure its independence and impartiality.”

This right guarantees the following:

Presumption of innocence

Public trial for criminal offence (except in certain circumstances – public safety/order, welfare of child offenders etc.)

Written charge informing the individual of the detail and nature of the offence.

Adequate time and facilities for preparation of his/her defence.

Right to a legal practitioner of his/her choice.

Right to examine witnesses and call witnesses of his/her own.

Right to interpreter if he/she cannot understand the language used at the trial
Access to the records of the trial proceedings.

A person can’t be found guilty of a criminal offence on account of any act or omission that did not, at the time it took place, constitute such an offence, and no penalty shall be imposed for any criminal offence heavier than the penalty in force at the time the offence was committed
No person can be tried for a criminal offence if he/she has been previously either convicted or acquitted for that offence or for a criminal offence having the same ingredients as that offence unless upon the order of a superior court.

No person who shows that he has been pardoned for a criminal offence shall again be tried for that offence.
No person who is tried for a criminal offence shall be compelled to give evidence at the trial.

No person shall be convicted of a criminal offence unless that offence is defined and the penalty is prescribed in a written law

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