54. Article 50(2) provides that every accused person has the right to a fair trial, which includes to be presumed innocent until the contrary is proved; to be informed of the charge, with sufficient detail to answer it; to have adequate time and facilities to prepare a defence; to a public trial before a court established under this Constitution; to have the trial begin and conclude without unreasonable delay; to be present when being tried, unless the conduct of the accused person makes it impossible for the trial to proceed; to choose, and be represented by, an advocate, and to be informed of this right promptly; to have an advocate assigned to the accused person by the State and at State expense, if substantial injustice would otherwise result, and to be informed of this right promptly; to remain silent, and not to testify during the proceedings; to be informed in advance of the evidence the prosecution intends to rely on, and to have reasonable access to that evidence; to adduce and challenge evidence; to refuse to give self-incriminating evidence to have the assistance of an interpreter without payment if the accused person cannot understand the language used at the trial. 55. Article 50((2))(n) protects individual from conviction for an act or omission that at the time it was committed or omitted was not an offence in Kenya or a crime under international law. 56. The Constitution of Kenya, 2010 even goes beyond the provisions of the Charter by prohibiting double jeopardy under Article 50(2)(o) which prohibits one from being tried for an offence in respect of an act or omission for which the accused person has previously been either acquitted or convicted; to the benefit of the least severe of the prescribed punishments for an offence, if the prescribed punishment for the offence has been changed between the time that the offence was committed and the time of sentencing. 57. The Government has adopted the National Prosecution Policy which seeks to regulate and standardise how prosecutions are conducted. It has prescribed policy considerations for public prosecutors in the initiation and conduct of prosecutions in the Republic of Kenya. The policy ensures that the public is empowered and know what to expect and demand fair, efficient and effective public prosecution services. 58. The Judiciary has undergone radical reforms in the recent past. Article 173 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 creates the Judiciary Fund. This has increased the independence of the Judiciary. During the 2013-2014 Budget, the fund was allocated the sum of Kenya Shilling 3.5 Billion to be used for administrative purposes and other matters to facilitate efficient delivery of services by the Judiciary. This fund has been instrumental in implementing the Judicial Transformation Framework 2012-2016. The Judiciary has also digitized over 60 million pages of cases for the High Court across Kenya and over 10,000 records for the Court of Appeal covering the years 1999 to 2010. 59. The Constitution stipulates the number of Judges that shall sit in the Supreme Court as the Chief Justice, the Deputy Chief Justice and 5 other Judges. Article 164(1)(a) provides that the Court of Appeal shall have at least 12 judges but the actual number to be determined by an Act of Parliament. There are currently over 30 Judges sitting in the Court of Appeal. There are currently over 70 Judges in the High Court. It is envisaged that the increase in the number of Judges will lead to an improvement in the disposal of cases. 18

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