This book provides a comprehensive explanation of what the right to a fair trial means in practice under international law. Focus on factual scenarios that practitioners may, it brings together sources and cases that define the right to a fair trial in criminal proceedings.

The right to a fair trial is often held as a central constitutional protection. It nevertheless remains unclear what precisely should count as a 'fair' trial and who should decide verdicts. This already difficult issue has become even more important given a number of proposed reforms of the trial, especially for defendants charged with terrorism offences. This collection, The Right to a Fair Trial, is the first to publish in one place the most influential work in the field on the following topics: including the right to jury trial; lay participation in trials; jury nullification; trial reform; the civil jury trial; and the more recent issue of terrorism trials. The collection should help inform both scholars and students of both the importance and complexity of the right to a fair trial, as well as shed light on how the trial might be further improved.

This open access publication discusses exclusionary rules in different criminal justice systems. It is based on the findings of a research project in comparative law with a focus on the question of whether or not a fair trial can be secured through evidence exclusion. Part I explains the legal framework in which exclusionary rules function in six legal systems: Germany, Switzerland, People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Singapore, and the United States. Part II is dedicated to selected issues identified as crucial for the assessment of exclusionary rules. These chapters highlight the delicate balance of interests required in the exclusion of potentially relevant information from a criminal trial and discusses possible approaches to alleviate the legal hurdles involved.

This comprehensive publication analyzes numerous aspects of the relationship between judicature and the fair trial principle in a comparative perspective. In addition, it examines the manifestation of some of the most significant elements inherent to the fair trial concept in different legal systems. Along with expansion of judicial power during the past century and with the strengthening of judicial independence, the fair trial requirement has appeared more often, especially in different international agreements and national constitutions, as the summarizing principle of what were formerly constitutional principles pertaining to judicature. Despite its generality and supranational application, the methods of interpreting this clause vary significantly among particular legal systems. This book assumes that the substantive content of this term conveys relevance to the organizational independence of judicial power, the selection of judges, and the mutual relationship between the branches of power. The comparative studies included in this collection offer readers a widespread understanding of the aforementioned correlations and will ultimately contribute to their mastery of the concept of fair trial.​

Although the U.S. Constitution guarantees those accused of a crime the right to a speedy and fair trial, in practice the judicial system is increasingly characterized by excessive trial delays and unfair trial situations. Here Warren Freedman, a member of the New York, Connecticut, and U.S. Supreme Court bars, offers a comprehensive discussion of the constitutional and statutory provisions underlying the right to a speedy and fair trial and examines their application in actual court practice. As Freedman notes, the mounting costs of lengthy litigation periods dictate that--if only for pragmatic reasons--the constitutional rights of accused criminals to speedy and fair trials must be respected. Freedman begins with an introduction to the concept and historical background of the speedy and fair trial. Turning to an examination of constitutional guarantees, he fully reviews the sixth and fourteenth amendments and their interpretation by the courts. Subsequent chapters examine the criteria for speed and fairness, the role of the jury, and related statutes such as The Speedy Trial Act of 1974, as well as grand jury investigations and prosecutorial abuses of the legal principles that guarantee speed and fairness. Throughout, analyses of applicable case law and precedent-setting court decisions illuminate the discussion. An indispensable resource for attorneys in criminal, corporate, and private practice, this volume clearly delineates not only the foundations of speedy and fair trial guarantees but also the many factors that can work against them in today's often overburdened judicial system.

Traces the evolution of the 6th Amendment through documents and Supreme Court rulings to reveal the ongoing effort to define the exact meaning of the text and apply its abstract concepts to real-world cases.