Fairness in International Criminal Trials

Fairness in International Criminal Trials PDF

Author: Yvonne McDermott

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2016-01-21

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 0191060402

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

With the acceptance of international criminal procedure as a self-sustaining discipline and as the tribunals established to try the most serious crimes in the former Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone, and Rwanda have completed or are beginning to wind up their activities, the time is ripe for a critical evaluation of these international criminal tribunals and their legacy. By examining the due process standards embraced by the five contemporary international criminal tribunals, the author draws conclusions about how the right to a fair trial should be interpreted in international criminal law. This volume addresses key conceptual questions on fairness, including: should international criminal tribunals set the highest standards of fairness, or is it sufficient for their practice to be 'just fair enough'? To whom does the right to a fair trial attach, and can actors such as the prosecution and victims be accurately said to benefit from that right? Does fairness require the full realization of a number of guarantees owed to the accused under the statutory frameworks of international criminal tribunals, or should we instead be concerned with the fairness of the trial 'as a whole'? What is the interplay between domestic and international courts on questions of procedural fairness? What are the elements of fairness in international criminal proceedings? And what remedies are available for breaches of fair trial rights? Through an in-depth exploration of the right to a fair trial, the author concludes that international criminal tribunals should have a role in setting the highest standards of due process protection in their procedures, and that in so doing, they can have a positive impact on domestic justice systems.

Fairness and the Goals of International Criminal Trials

Fairness and the Goals of International Criminal Trials PDF

Author: Caleb H Wheeler

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2023-04-28

Total Pages: 170

ISBN-13: 1000854841

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This book presents a ground-breaking, interdisciplinary study into the various goals assigned to international criminal trials. It starts from the proposition that no hierarchy exists amongst the different goals meaning that trials should strive to achieve all of them in equal measure. This is made difficult by the fact that not all of these goals are compatible and the fulfilment of one may lead to others going unmet. Therefore, a balance must be found if the goals of trial are to be achieved at all. The book posits that fairness should serve as the guiding principle when weighing the different trial goals against one another. It is argued that without fairness international and internationalised criminal courts and tribunals lack legitimacy and without legitimacy they lack effectiveness. The book concludes that international criminal trials must adopt procedures that emphasise fairness to all of the parties and trial participants if they wish to accomplish any of the goals set for them. Each chapter is devoted to identifying and explaining a different trial goal, providing analysis of how that particular goal functions in conjunction with the other goals, and discussing the ways in which a fairness-oriented trial model will help achieve those goals. The book provides a dynamic understanding of the different trial goals and the importance of fairness in the trial process by drawing on research from a variety of different legal disciplines while also incorporating scholarship rooted in criminology, political theory, international relations, and psychology. The book will be essential reading for researchers, academics and professionals working in the areas of International Criminal Law, Public International Law and Transitional Justice.

The Right to a Fair Trial in International Law

The Right to a Fair Trial in International Law PDF

Author: Amal Clooney

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2021-02-11

Total Pages: 500

ISBN-13: 0192536087

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The Right to a Fair Trial in International Lawbrings together the diverse sources of international law that define the right to a fair trial in the context of criminal (as opposed to civil, administrative or other) proceedings. The book provides a comprehensive explanation of what the right to a fair trial means in practice under international law and focuses on factual scenarios that practitioners and judges may face in court. Each of the book's fourteen chapters examines a component of the right to a fair trial as defined in Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and reviews the case law of regional human rights courts, international criminal courts as well as UN human rights bodies. Highlighting both consensus and divisions in the international jurisprudence in this area, this book provides an invaluable resource to practitioners and scholars dealing with breaches of one of the most fundamental human rights.

A Fair Trial at the International Criminal Court?

A Fair Trial at the International Criminal Court? PDF

Author: Elmar Widder

Publisher: PL Academic Research is

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9783631675663

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This book approaches the question of whether or not the court procedure at the International Criminal Court (ICC) can be regarded as fair from two angles: First, does the ICC provide a fair trial according to the accepted standards of international human rights law? Secondly, is it substantively fair so as to establish the legitimacy of the court on a sound footing? Practitioners and academics are increasingly conscious of the need for an approach to evidence which spans civil law and common law traditions, national and international law. This is what this monograph does, in meticulous detail, for the law of confrontation and disclosure.

Fairness and Rights in International Criminal Procedure

Fairness and Rights in International Criminal Procedure PDF

Author: Sophie Rigney

Publisher: EUP

Published: 2024-02-29

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781474466318

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Through an indepth critical analysis of procedural decisions at the ICTY and ICC between 2008 and 2018, Rigney shows that there is a clear separation between fairness and rights in practice. She demonstrates tthat fairness is invoked in international criminal law decisions in inconsistent ways that are frequently at odds with defendants' rights.

Language and the Right to Fair Hearing in International Criminal Trials

Language and the Right to Fair Hearing in International Criminal Trials PDF

Author: Catherine S. Namakula

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-10-07

Total Pages: 146

ISBN-13: 331901451X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Language and the Right to Fair Hearing in International Criminal Trials explores the influence of the dynamic factor of language on trial fairness in international criminal proceedings. By means of empirical research and jurisprudential analysis, this book explores the implications that conducting a trial in more than one language can have for the right to fair trial. It reveals that the language debate is as old as international criminal justice, but due to misrepresentation of the status of language fair trial rights in international law, the debate has not yielded concrete reforms. Language is the core foundation for justice. It is the means through which the rights of the accused are secured and exercised. Linguistic complexities such as misunderstandings, translation errors and cultural distance among participants in international criminal trials affect courtroom communication, the presentation and the perception of the evidence, hence jeopardizing the foundations of a fair trial. The author concludes that language fair trial rights are priority rights situated in the minimum guarantees of fair criminal trial; the obligation of the court to ensure fair trial or accord the accused person a fair hearing also includes the duty to ensure they can understand and be understood.

Avoiding a Full Criminal Trial

Avoiding a Full Criminal Trial PDF

Author: Koen Vriend

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-10-12

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 9462651531

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

In modern societies, full criminal trials are avoided on many occasions. This book is concerned with mechanisms that either divert from or speed up the proceedings. Koen Vriend argues that the fair trial rights as established by the European Court of Human Rights under Article 6 ECHR provide a normative framework that does not only apply in a full criminal trial, but that it can also be used for diverted and shortened proceedings. He shows that the concept of fairness—as derived from ECtHR case law—is a fundamental principle that underlies all criminal law enforcement. It provides for the appropriate framework to assess whether diverted or shortened proceedings are fair and legitimate. The book is intended for criminal law scholars and practitioners and human rights scholars. Dr. Koen Vriend is a Lecturer of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedural Law at the University of Amsterdam.

The Right to Be Present at Trial in International Criminal Law

The Right to Be Present at Trial in International Criminal Law PDF

Author: Caleb H. Wheeler

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2018-10-18

Total Pages: 333

ISBN-13: 9004376860

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

In The Right to Be Present at Trial in International Criminal Law Caleb H. Wheeler analyses how the right to be present is understood by international criminal courts and tribunals in the context of the right to a fair trial.

Obstacles to Fairness in Criminal Proceedings

Obstacles to Fairness in Criminal Proceedings PDF

Author: John D Jackson

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2018-03-22

Total Pages: 378

ISBN-13: 1782258361

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This volume considers the way in which the focus on individual rights may constitute an obstacle to ensuring fairness in criminal proceedings. The increasingly cosmopolitan nature of criminal justice, forcing legal systems with different institutional forms and practices to interact with each other as they attempt to combat crime beyond national borders, has accentuated the need for systems to seek legitimacy beyond their domestic traditions. Fairness, expressed in terms of the right to a fair trial in provisions such as Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, has emerged across Europe as the principal means of guaranteeing the legitimacy of criminal proceedings. The consequence of this is that criminal procedure doctrines are framed overwhelmingly in 'constitutional' terms – the protection of defence rights is necessary to restrict and legitimate the state's mandate to prosecute crime. Yet there are various problems with relying solely or predominantly on defence rights as a means of ensuring that proceedings are 'fair' or legitimate and these issues are rarely discussed in the academic literature. In this volume, scholars from the disciplines of law, philosophy and sociology challenge various normative assumptions underpinning our understanding of fairness in criminal proceedings.