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(h)appeal, or seek leave to appeal, decisions to a higher judicial tribunal,except in the case of the final appellate court.Deprivation of liberty must be in accordance with law47. A judge should not deprive a person of his liberty except on such groundsand in accordance with such procedures as are established by law. Accordingly, ajudicial order depriving a person of his liberty should not be made without anobjective assessment of its necessity and reasonableness. Similarly, detentionordered in bad faith, or through neglect to apply the relevant law correctly, isarbitrary, as is committal for trial without an objective assessment of the relevantevidence.The rights of accused persons48. Article 14, paragraph 1, of the International Covenant on Civil and PoliticalRights defines the right to a fair trial. It recognizes that “all persons” are “equal”before the courts and are entitled to a “fair and public hearing” in the determinationof any “criminal charge” or of “rights and obligations in a suit at law” by a“competent, independent and impartial” tribunal “established by law”. 3049. Article 14, paragraphs 2-7, and article 15 of the Covenant contain thefollowing specific applications, in respect of criminal proceedings, of the generalprinciple of a fair trial stated in article 14, paragraph 1. They apply at all stages of acriminal proceeding, including the preliminary process, if one exists, committalproceedings, and at all stages of the trial itself. These, however, are minimumguarantees, the observance of which is not always sufficient to ensure the fairness ofa hearing.(a)(b)(c)The right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.The right not to be tried again for an offence for which he has alreadybeen finally convicted or acquitted.The right to be informed promptly and in detail in a language which heunderstands of the nature and cause of the charge against him.30 For an authoritative interpretation of ICCPR 14, see Human Rights Committee, GeneralComment 13 (1984). A revised and more extensive general comment is expected shortly. Fora comparative analysis of the jurisprudence on the right to a fair trial, see NihalJayawickrama, The Judicial Application of Human Rights Law: National, Regional andInternational Jurisprudence (Cambridge University Press, 2002), pp. 478-594.54

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