100 Trial Monitoring: A Reference Manual for Practitioners IV. ANALYSIS OF ADHERENCE TO HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS General instructions This is the heart of the report and the analysis set forth here is the key to success of the entire program. The analysis shall be primarily based on assessing the compliance of the domestic law and practice to the internationally recognized fair trial standards. The analysis shall be critical and shall identify fair trial concerns and human rights violations. This section is divided into sub-headings to enable the evaluation the proceedings to be organized into general “subject” areas that are significant in assessing the adherence to fair trial standards. To provide guidance on the subject matter of each sub-heading, explanations, and relevant questions for analysis are provided below. Monitors must exercise careful judgment as to which category to use for each issue under analysis and refer to these guidelines or contact a legal analyst when in doubt. Monitors should include all important analysis in this section or else it may be lost. Under each sub-heading: a) Open with a statement of the problem; State the problem and its consequences in 2-3 sentences. b) Give a simple summary of the relevant applicable law that is being breached • State domestic law; • State international human rights law, especially if it affords better protection. (NB: Case law of international bodies can be relevant, in addition to the provisions of directly applicable conventions. Likewise, apart from “hard-law”, other international instruments may be of relevance, such as a body of principles.) c) Apply the law to the facts – give details of the problem • State the facts; • Analyze compliance with the law; • Identify concerns, potential or actual violations of the international fair trial standard. If you are not certain if there is a concern include the information nonetheless, or else it may be lost. d) Recommendations The recommendations should be related to addressing the identified issue/concern. They should: • Be specific; and • Have one or several addressees. … ii) Instructions specific to Sub-headings 1-14 … 5. Right to have the free assistance of an interpreter Article 6 (3) ECHR: “… to have the free assistance of an interpreter if he cannot understand or speak the language used in the Court.” If a defendant has difficulties in speaking, understanding, or reading the language used by the Court, the right to interpretation (oral) and translation (written) is crucial to guarantee the fairness of the proceedings. It must be noted that if the defendant does speak the language of the Court adequately, but prefers to speak another language, there is no obligation on the authorities to provide the defendant with the free assistance of an interpreter. Interpreters have to be provided free of charge regardless of the outcome of the trial. The European Court found a violation of the right to free assistance of an interpreter when the authorities sought reimbursement of the cost of the interpreter when the defendant was convicted [footnote: Case of Luedicke, Belkacem, Koc v. Germany, ECtHR judgement, 28 November 1978, paras. 47-50]. It is important to note that deadlines start to run from the moment a given document/instruction has been given in a language comprehensible to the defendant and not from the time of delivery of a document in a language he or she cannot understand [footnote: Id., para. 42].