110 Legal Digest of International Fair Trial Rights • The right to a lawyer of one’s choice (See also 6.6.3), with free legal assistance if the defendant does not have the means to pay for it (See also 6.6.7); • The right to be present at the trial (See also 6.5.2); and • The right to obtain the attendance and examination of defence witnesses (See also 6.7.1). The Human Rights Committee’s General Comment on the right to a fair trial adds that, even in emergency situations, the guarantees of a fair trial may never be made subject to derogation if this would circumvent the protection of non-derogable rights. For example, because the right to life is a right that is non-derogable in its entirety, any trial leading to the imposition of the death penalty during a state of emergency must comply with all of the requirements of a fair trial.435 6.1 Equality of arms Article 14 of the ICCPR “(1) All persons shall be equal before the courts and tribunals… “(3) In the determination of any criminal charge against him, everyone shall be entitled to the following minimum guarantees, in full equality:” Article 6(1) 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…” The principle of equality of arms means that the procedural conditions at trial and sentencing must be the same for all parties. It calls for a “fair balance” between the parties, requiring that each party should be afforded a reasonable opportunity to present the case under conditions that do not place her/him at a substantial disadvantage vis-à-vis the opponent.436 The principle is an inherent aspect of the right to a fair trial and intimately linked to the principle of equality before courts and tribunals (See also 2.2). The notion of equality is referred to in this broader context within Article 14(1) of the ICCPR, and also within the specific context of criminal proceedings in the chapeaux to Article 14(3) of the ICCPR, in terms of the enjoyment of fair trial rights “in full equality”.437 Although it is not expressly referred 435 UN Human Rights Committee, CCPR General Comment 32 (2007), para 6. 436 Werner v Austria [1997] ECHR 92, para 63; Coëme and Others v Belgium [2000] ECHR 250, para 102; G. B. v France [2001] ECHR 564, para 58. 437 In similar terms, article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted by the UN General Assembly under its resolution 217 (III) of 10 December 1948, also guarantees that: “Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing… in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him”.