Each court case has to follow many procedural requirements. These guarantee that you can participate fully in an effective court process.
Procedural requirements guarantee that:
- you are given an opportunity to meaningfully participate in the court process
- the court process is effective
- the court process is open to public scrutiny
Guarantees
The right to a fair trial includes a number of guarantees, which ensure that you are able to understand what is happening in your case and to present your arguments to the court on equal terms with the prosecution. These guarantees cover the entire procedure starting from your right to use the language you understand and ending with your rights in the appeals procedures if these are possible in your case.
The right to a fair trial also demands that the court process is prompt and effective and that it is open to public scrutiny. This means that the court process and judgment must be generally accessible to public. The judgment must contain sufficient reasoning for you and for members of society to understand why the court has decided in the way that it has.
Read more about procedural requirements in the criminal proceedings. If these procedural requirements are not met in the criminal proceedings, it may result in a violation of your right to fair trial.