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Right to a fair trial and to appeal
Article 7 ACHPR.
Together with the right to liberty, the right to a fair trial represents the core of the
protection against abuses in the field of civil and political rights and freedoms. The
Constitution of Seychelles is profuse in this matter. Its Article 19 includes all the
general principles which, since the ancient Roman Law, guarantee a fair trial,
including others introduced by the latest international developments in human rights.
Through this Article the Constitution expresses in a comprehensive way the main
issues found in the right of a fair hearing: the need to be heard; the relevance of the
time-limit on the effectiveness of justice; the independence and impartiality of the
Court as the only guarantee against the manipulation of justice; and finally the
procedural guarantee that a Court should be created by law:
19.1: "Every person charged with an offence has the right, unless the charge is withdrawn, to a fair
hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial court established by law".
In paragraph 2, Article 19 goes further by providing, a wide range of safeguards
which are:
a) The Presumption of innocence;
b) The use of an language understandable by the accused when informed of the
charges;
c) The right to time to prepare the defence to the charge;
d) The right to be defended in person or by a legal practitioner;
e) The right to direct and crossed examination of both their own and the
prosecution witnesses;
f) The right to avail oneself of an interpreter at the trial;
g) The right not to be compelled to testify or confess guilt;
h) The right to silence and not to have adverse reference drawn on the silence;
i) The right to not be proceeded against “in absentia” unless when it is the
consequence of the accused conduct before the court;