delay”.891 For cases that involve serious criminal charges, such as murder, and where the accused is held in detention before and during trial, the Human Rights Committee has found that “the accused must be tried in as expeditious a manner as possible”.892 371. A determination of what constitutes an undue or unreasonable delay will depend upon the circumstances of each particular case.893 Relevant factors include the complexity of the case, the conduct of the accused and the actions of the administrative and judicial authorities of the state in handling the matter.894 The burden of proof for showing that a delay is justified and reasonable rests with the state.895 The Human Rights Committee has found that a delay of over four years, from when the accused was charged until convicted, in the absence of any justification, is a violation of Article 14(3)(c) of the ICCPR.896 If an individual is detained and “charged with an offence but not brought to trial” then both Article 9(3) and Article 14(3)(c) of the ICCPR may be violated.897 372. The right to be tried without undue delay is also protected under international humanitarian law by virtue of Common Article 3 and other provisions of the Geneva Conventions.898 b. Domestic Standards 373. The Sixth Amendment to the US Constitution provides that “[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial”.899 The applicability of this 891 Ibid. UN HRC, Glenroy Francis et al. v. Trinidad and Tobago, Communication No. 899/1999, 25 July 2002, para. 5.4, <http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CCPR%2fC% 2f75%2fD%2f899%2f1999&Lang=en>: the Committee said that the State party would have to show very exceptional reasons to justify delays of four years and three months, and three years and five months, until trial. 893 UN HRC, General Comment No. 32, op. cit., note 648, para. 35; Nowak, CCPR Commentary, op. cit., note 93, p. 334. 894 UN HRC, General Comment No. 32, ibid. 895 UN HRC, Isidora Barroso v. Panama, Communication No. 473/1991, 27 July 1995, para. 8.5, <http://www.un.org/ga/search /view_doc.asp?symbol=CCPR/C/54/D/473/1991>; IACHR, Hilaire, Constantine and Benjamin v. Trinidad and Tobago, 21 June 2002, paras. 122, 145, <http://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/casos/articulos/seriec_94_ing.pdf>. 896 UN HRC, Jan Filipovich v. Lithuania, Communication No. 875/1999, 4 August 2003, para. 7.1, <http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CCPR%2fC%2f78%2fD%2f875%2f1999&L ang=en>: the State party did not provide justification and the Committee noted the case was not too complex; UN HRC, Girjadat Siewpersaud et al. v. Trinidad and Tobago, Communication No. 938/2000, 29 July 2004, para. 6.1, <http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno= CCPR%2fC%2f81%2fD%2f938%2f2000&Lang=en>: the State party provided no justification for the delay. The Human Rights Committee has also found that an unexplained pre-trial delay of approximately 2 years also violates the ICCPR. See, also, UN HRC, Xavier Evans v. Trinidad and Tobago, Communication No. 908/2000, 21 March 2003, para. 6.2, <http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CCPR%2fC%2f77%2fD%2f908%2f2000&L ang=en>; UN HRC, Boodoo v. Trinidad and Tobago, op. cit., note 511, paras. 6.2, 6.3: the accused was detained for two years and nine months. 897 UN HRC, General Comment No. 32, op. cit., note 648, para. 61. 898 Third Geneva Convention, Art. 103: “[j]udicial investigations (…) shall be conducted as rapidly as circumstances permit and so that trial shall take place as soon as possible”; Fourth Geneva Convention, Art. 71: “[a]ccused persons (…) shall be brought to trial as rapidly as possible”; API, Art. 75(4): “[n]o sentence may be passed and no penalty may be executed (…) except pursuant to a conviction pronounced by an impartial and regularly constituted court respecting the generally recognized principles of regular judicial procedure”; Common Article 3; ICTY, Prosecutor v. Blagoje Simić, Miroslav Tadić, and Simo Zarić, op. cit., note 789, para. 678. 899 US Constitution, Sixth Amendment. 892 162