of security concerns, this can be sufficient to ensure there is no violation of the right.635 K. An independent and impartial tribunal? 72. A fundamental principle and prerequisite of a fair trial is that the tribunal charged with the responsibility of making decisions in a case must be established by law, and must be competent, independent and impartial and free from any interference by the State, the parties and external influences.636 73. Like the right to habeas corpus, the right to an independent and impartial tribunal is now considered to be an absolute and non-derogable right in international human rights law. The right to trial by an independent and impartial tribunal is so central to the due process of law that it “is an absolute right that may suffer no exception”.637 74. International standards relating to the selection of judges and their conditions of employment have been established to safeguard the independence and competence of the judiciary.638 What is a ‘tribunal’? 75. The Human Rights Committee has held that this is ‘a body, regardless of its denomination, that is established by law, is independent of the executive and the legislative branches of government or enjoys in specific cases judicial independence in deciding legal matters in proceedings that are judicial in nature’.639 This requires therefore that it be: a. Established by law;640 b. Is competent to decide on the issues that come before it; c. Is independent and impartial. 76. There is no possibility of limitations or derogations from the requirements of competence, independence and impartiality.641 635 Communication 1051/2002 Ahani v. Canada, 29 March 2004, para 10.4. Contrast with the Committee’s later Concluding Observations: Canada, CCPR/C/CAN/CO/5 (2006), para 13. 636 Article 14(1) ICCPR; Article 10 UDHR; Article 6(1) ECHR; see also OSCE Document of the Moscow Meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the CSCE, Moscow, 1991, p.112, para 19.1. 637 Communication 263/1987, Gonzalez del Rio v Peru, 28 October 1992. 638 Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary. See also Opinion no 1 (2001) of the Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE), on Standards Concerning the Independence of the Judiciary and the Irremovability of judges Recommendation no. r (94) 12. 639 Human Rights Committee General Comment No.32, CCPR/C/GC/32 (2007), para 18. 640 Communication No.263/1987, Gonzalez de Rio v Peru, 28 October 1992, para 5.2 641 Human Rights Committee General Comment No.32, CCPR/C/GC/32 (2007),para 19; Communication 263/1987, Gonzalez del Rio v Peru, 28 October 1992, para 5.2. See also General Comment No.29, CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.11, para 16. 112