'Fair trial standards' in document 'Marshall Islands - Constitution'

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RELEVANT SECTIONS OF THE IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION

ARTICLE II
BILL OF RIGHTS

Section 4. Due Process and Fair Trial.

(1) No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

ARTICLE II
BILL OF RIGHTS

Section 4. Due Process and Fair Trial.

(2) Every person charged with a criminal offense shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

ARTICLE II
BILL OF RIGHTS

Section 4. Due Process and Fair Trial.

(4) In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to be informed promptly and in detail of the nature and cause of the accusation against him ; to a prompt judicial determination of whether there is good cause to hold him for trial ; to a speedy and public trial before an impartial tribunal ; to have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defense ; to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choice and, if he lacks funds to procure such assistance, to receive it free of charge if the interests of justice so require, to be confronted with the witnesses against him ; and to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor.

ARTICLE II
BILL OF RIGHTS

Section 4. Due Process and Fair Trial.

(6) No person shall be held to answer for a crime except on presentment or indictment or criminal information.

ARTICLE II
BILL OF RIGHTS

Section 4. Due Process and Fair Trial.

(7) No person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, or against his spouse, parent, child, or sibling, or to give testimonial evidence against any such person whenever that evidence might directly or indirectly be used to obtain such person's criminal conviction.

ARTICLE II
BILL OF RIGHTS

Section 4. Due Process and Fair Trial.

(8) No person shall be subjected to coercive interrogation, nor may any involuntary confession or involuntary guilty plea, or any confession extracted from someone who has not been informed of his rights to silence and legal assistance and of the fact that what he says may be used against him, be used to support a criminal conviction.

ARTICLE II
BILL OF RIGHTS

Section 4. Due Process and Fair Trial.

(10) No person shall be preventively detained, involuntarily committed, or otherwise deprived of liberty outside the criminal process, except pursuant to Act, subject to fair procedures, and upon a clear showing that the person's release would gravely endanger his own health or safety or the health, safety, or property of others.

ARTICLE II
BILL OF RIGHTS

Section 6. Cruel and Unusual Punishment.

(3) No person shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman and degrading treatment, to cruel and unusual punishment, or to excessive fines or deprivations.

ARTICLE II
BILL OF RIGHTS

Section 7. Habeas Corpus.

(1) In order that the legality of any person's detention always remain subject to appropriate challenge in a court of law, the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended.

(2) Any person held in custody is entitled to apply, in person or through another, to any judge in the Republic of the Marshall Islands for a writ of habeas corpus.

(3) There shall be a prompt hearing on any application for a writ of habeas corpus, and if it appears that the person being detained is being held in violation of this Constitution or other law of the Republic, the judge with whom the application was filed shall order the immediate release of the person detained, subject to reasonable provisions for appeal by the detaining authority.

(4) In the case of a person detained pursuant to a criminal conviction or sentence, the judge with whom the application was filed shall determine whether the judgment underlying the challenged detention was rendered without jurisdiction or in violation of the detained person's rights under this Constitution or other law of the Republic and shall set the judgment aside and order the prisoner's release if either infirmity is found.

(5) The provisions of paragraphs (3) and (4) of this Section shall extend not only to the fact of the applicant's custody but also to such particular conditions of the applicant's custody as are challenged as being contrary to law.

(6) Insofar as a determination under paragraph (4) or paragraph (5) of this Section requires a ruling on a controverted matter, the judge with whom an application for habeas corpus has been filed shall treat as conclusive any prior determination of a court of record in which the applicant had a full and fair opportunity to litigate the matter, providing such determination either was ultimately upheld on appeal or was knowingly and voluntarily permitted to stand without challenge by the applicant.

RELEVANT ROME STATUTE PROVISIONS

Article 55
Rights of persons during an investigation
1. In respect of an investigation under this Statute, a person:
(a) Shall not be compelled to incriminate himself or herself or to confess guilt;
(b) Shall not be subjected to any form of coercion, duress or threat, to torture or to any other form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
(c) Shall, if questioned in a language other than a language the person fully understands and speaks, have, free of any cost, the assistance of a competent interpreter and such translations as are necessary to meet the requirements of fairness; and
(d) Shall not be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention, and shall not be deprived of his or her liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedures as are established in this Statute.
2. Where there are grounds to believe that a person has committed a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court and that person is about to be questioned either by the Prosecutor, or by national authorities pursuant to a request made under Part 9, that person shall also have the following rights of which he or she shall be informed prior to being questioned:
(a) To be informed, prior to being questioned, that there are grounds to believe that he or she has committed a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court;
(b) To remain silent, without such silence being a consideration in the determination of guilt or innocence;
(c) To have legal assistance of the person's choosing, or, if the person does not have legal assistance, to have legal assistance assigned to him or her, in any case where the interests of justice so require, and without payment by the person in any such case if the person does not have sufficient means to pay for it; and
(d) To be questioned in the presence of counsel unless the person has voluntarily waived his or her right to counsel.

Article 63
Trial in the presence of the accused
1. The accused shall be present during the trial.
2. If the accused, being present before the Court, continues to disrupt the trial, the Trial Chamber may remove the accused and shall make provision for him or her to observe the trial and instruct counsel from outside the courtroom, through the use of communications technology, if required. Such measures shall be taken only in exceptional circumstances after other reasonable alternatives have proved inadequate, and only for such duration as is strictly required.

Article 66
Presumption of innocence
1. Everyone shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty before the Court in accordance with the applicable law.
2. The onus is on the Prosecutor to prove the guilt of the accused.
3. In order to convict the accused, the Court must be convinced of the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt.

Article 67
Rights of the accused
1. In the determination of any charge, the accused shall be entitled to a public hearing, having regard to the provisions of this Statute, to a fair hearing conducted impartially, and to the following minimum guarantees, in full equality:
(a) To be informed promptly and in detail of the nature, cause and content of the charge, in a language which the accused fully understands and speaks;
(b) To have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of the defence and to communicate freely with counsel of the accused's choosing in confidence;
(c) To be tried without undue delay;
(d) Subject to article 63, paragraph 2, to be present at the trial, to conduct the defence in person or through legal assistance of the accused's choosing, to be informed, if the accused does not have legal assistance, of this right and to have legal assistance assigned by the Court in any case where the interests of justice so require, and without payment if the accused lacks sufficient means to pay for it;
(e) To examine, or have examined, the witnesses against him or her and to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on his or her behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him or her. The accused shall also be entitled to raise defences and to present other evidence admissible under this Statute;
(f) To have, free of any cost, the assistance of a competent interpreter and such translations as are necessary to meet the requirements of fairness, if any of the proceedings of or documents presented to the Court are not in a language which the accused fully understands and speaks;
(g) Not to be compelled to testify or to confess guilt and to remain silent, without such silence being a consideration in the determination of guilt or innocence;
(h) To make an unsworn oral or written statement in his or her defence; and
(i) Not to have imposed on him or her any reversal of the burden of proof or any onus of rebuttal.
2. In addition to any other disclosure provided for in this Statute, the Prosecutor shall, as soon as practicable, disclose to the defence evidence in the Prosecutor's possession or control which he or she believes shows or tends to show the innocence of the accused, or to mitigate the guilt of the accused, or which may affect the credibility of prosecution evidence. In case of doubt as to the application of this paragraph, the Court shall decide.