Article 99 1. Appointment, transfer, secondment, delegation, promotion and questioning of judges shall be as prescribed in the Judicial Authority Law. 2. Judges may not be dismissed except in cases that are allowed in the Judicial Authority Law. Article 105 Court hearings shall be public, unless a court decides to make them in camera due to considerations related to public order or public morals. In all cases, the sentence shall be pronounced in a public hearing. A. Introduction 1. The right to a fair trial encompasses a range of different elements which will be explored below. The right to a fair trial in both civil and criminal proceedings is dealt with together, although where the standards differ this is noted. 2. We start with an examination of whether there are certain circumstances in which it may be permissible to derogate from the right, before moving on to consider core obligations in the right. These include the presumption of innocence, access to court and access to a lawyer. 3. Consideration is then given to examining what amounts to a ‘criminal offence or charge’ within the meaning of, for example, Article 14 ICCPR, or the circumstances in civil proceedings which trigger the protections under the right to a fair trial. 4. The various components of the right will then be examined including the requirement of being informed in a language one understands of the charges against you, the time and facilities to prepare a defence, the importance of an independent and impartial tribunal and the principle of equality of arms. It will then move on to discuss the requirements that the trial take place within a reasonable time, the hearing is in public, with the assistance of an interpreter, and the rule of double jeopardy. 5. The section concludes with an examination of the obligations and safeguards post-trial, including delivery of the judgment, a right to an appeal, sentencing compensation and the rights of victims. B. The importance of the right to a fair trial 6. The closely related principles of “due process” and “the rule of law” are fundamental to the protection of human rights. Such rights can only be protected and enforced if an individual has recourse to courts and tribunals, independent of the State, which can resolve disputes in accordance with fair procedures. The protection of procedural due process is not, in itself, sufficient to protect against human rights abuses but it is the foundation stone for 98