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Importance Of Rights In Universal Declaration Of Human Rights

Decent Essays

RIGHT TO FAIR TRIAL IN DIFFERENT NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENT:
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1948, provides in Article 10 that: everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
Article 6 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, adopted in 1950, entitles an accused to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time period, to prompt information on the trial in a language which he understands, to confront witnesses testifying on behalf of the prosecution, to order the appearance of witnesses to testify on his behalf, and to legal assistance.
In 1966, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was adopted. It entered into force in 1976 and thus far has been ratified by 164 States. Article 14 of the Covenant affords the full panoply of minimum rights to a criminally accused person.
I turn now to the American Convention on Human Rights, adopted in 1969. Article 8 of this Convention provides the full spectrum of rights to a criminally accused person, comparable to the European Convention.
The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, adopted by the Organization of African Unity in 1981, also codifies the right to a fair trial. Article 7 contains many of the rights included in

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