47. These principles can apply to civil proceedings, although this is not expressly mentioned by some of the treaties, including Article 14(3)(d) ICCPR. 588 48. Legal aid does not automatically have to be provided in appeal proceedings: in such circumstances the likelihood of success will be considered as a relevant factor.589 G. What is a criminal charge/offence? 49. The right to a fair trial in criminal proceedings is triggered, according to Article 14 ICCPR, in respect of a criminal charge or offence. Fair trial rights apply not only to court proceedings but also to the stages which both precede and follow them. A State cannot escape its obligations under the right to a fair trial and the application of criminal procedural safeguards by seeking to classify criminal matters as non-criminal, yet at the same time retaining criminal sanctions.590 50. However fair trial rights can also be engaged when someone is significantly disadvantaged by an investigation, i.e. before they are charged with a criminal offence591, but will not apply to proceedings which are not determinative of a criminal charge, e.g. pre-trial hearings concerning trial arrangements.592 51. Whether something amounts to a criminal charge depends on:    Those acts considered under domestic law to be punishable; The nature of the offence, or the potential that this could apply to acts that are criminal in nature; and Whether conviction results in sanctions that ‘regardless of their qualification in domestic law, must be regarded as penal because of their purpose, character or severity’.593 52. Classification as non-criminal in domestic law is relevant but not definitive.594 53. When assessing the nature of the offence, the following factors indicate that the offence is criminal: 588 Similarly, Article 6(3)(c) ECHR, see Steele v UK, [2005] ECHR 103. Human Rights Committee General Comment No.32, CCPR/C/GC/32 (2007), para 10. 589 Human Rights Committee Communication 341/1988, Z. P. v Canada, 11 April 1991. 590 The European Court has held that a criminal charge is an autonomous concept, and a charge is “the official notification given to an individual by the competent authority of an allegation that he has committed a criminal offence”, Deweer v Belgium 27 February 1980, para 46. 591 Funke v France, 25 February 1993. 592 Korellis v Cyprus, 3 December 2002. 593 Human Rights Committee, General Comment No.32, CCPR/C/GC/32 (2007), para 15; Communication 1051/2001, Perterer v Austria, 10 July 2004, para 9.2. For comparable criteria under the ECHR, see Engel v Netherlands, [1976] ECHR 3, paras 80-85. 594 For example, Benham v UK [1996] ECHR 22; Engel v Netherlands, ibid, para 81. 107