The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area imposition of a lighter penalty, the offender shall benefit thereby. (iii) Capital punishment may not be imposed on: - persons below 18 years of age at the time of the commission of their crime; - pregnant women or new mothers; - persons who have become insane. (iv) Capital punishment may be imposed only when the guilt of the person charged is based upon clear and convincing evidence leaving no room for alternative explanation of the facts. (v) Capital punishment must only be carried out pursuant to a final judgement rendered by a competent court after legal process which gives all possible safeguards to ensure a fair trial, at least equal to those contained in Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including the right of anyone suspected of or charged with a crime for which capital punishment may be imposed to adequate legal assistance at all stages of the proceedings, and where appropriate, the right to contact a consular representative. (vi) Anyone sentenced to death shall have an effective right to appeal to a court of higher jurisdiction, and steps should be taken to ensure that such appeals become mandatory. (vii) Where applicable, anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to submit an individual complaint under international procedures; the death sentence will not be carried out while the complaint remains under consideration under those procedures. (viii) Anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence. Amnesty, pardon or commutation of the sentence of death may be granted in all cases of capital punishment. (ix) Capital punishment may not be carried out in contravention of a state’s international commitments. (x) The length of time spent after having been sentenced to death may also be a factor. (xi) Where capital punishment occurs, it shall be carried out so as to inflict the minimum possible suffering. It may not be carried out in public or in any other degrading manner. (xii) The death penalty should not be imposed as an act of political revenge in contravention of the minimum standards, e.g. against coup plotters. 67