138
Legal Digest of International Fair Trial Rights
It must be recalled that the principle of equality of arms (See also 6.1) will demand that if one
of the parties in the proceedings is given the benefit of being present during non-criminal
proceedings, then the same benefit should be accorded to the other party(ies).602
6.6 Right to defend oneself
Article 14 of the ICCPR
“(1) In the determination of any criminal charge against him, or of his rights and obligations
in a suit at law, everyone shall be entitled to a fair… hearing…
“(3) In the determination of any criminal charge against him, everyone shall be entitled to
the following minimum guarantees, in full equality:
“(d) …to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing; to be
informed, if he does not have legal assistance, of this right; and to have legal assistance
assigned to him, in any case where the interests of justice so require, and without payment
by him in any such case if he does not have sufficient means to pay for it;”
Article 6 of the ECHR
“(1) In the determination of his civil rights and obligations or of any criminal charge against
him, everyone is entitled to a fair… hearing…
“(3) Everyone charged with a criminal offence has the following minimum rights:
“(c) To defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing or, if he
has not sufficient means to pay for legal assistance, to be given it free when the interests of
justice so require;”
OSCE Commitments
(5.17) – any person prosecuted will have the right to defend himself in person or through
prompt legal assistance of his own choosing or, if he does not have sufficient means to pay
for legal assistance, to be given it free when the interests of justice so require.
Document of the Copenhagen Meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension
of the CSCE, Copenhagen 1990.
***
602 Äärelä and Näkkäläjärvi v Finland, HRC Communication 779/1997, UN Doc CCPR/C/73/D/779/1997
(2001), para 7.4.
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents