Criminal procedure
Criminal investigation
Arrest warrant  · Search warrant
Probable cause
Knock and announce
Exigent circumstance
Search and seizure
Arrest  · Right to silence
Miranda warning (U.S.)
Grand jury
Criminal prosecution
Statute of limitations
Criminal jurisdiction
Inquisitorial system
Adversarial system
Arraignment  · Indictment
Nolo contendere
Plea bargain
Rights of the accused
Right to a fair trial
Presumption of innocence
Jury trial  · Speedy trial
Habeas corpus  · Bail
Exclusionary rule (U.S.)
Self-incrimination
Double jeopardy
Conviction and sentencing
Mandatory sentencing
Parole  · Probation
Tariff (U.K.)  · Life licence (U.K.)
Cruel and unusual punishment
Capital punishment
Execution warrant
Related areas of law
Criminal law  · Evidence
Civil procedure

The Right to a fair trial is an essential right in all countries respecting the rule of law. It is explicitly proclaimed in the Sixth Amendment of the US Constitution, Article Ten of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article Six of the European Convention of Human Rights, as well as numerous other constitutions and declarations throughout the world. Image File history File links SmallLadyJustice. ... Criminal procedure refers to the legal process for adjudicating claims that someone has violated the criminal law. ... An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a public officer which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual. ... A search warrant is a written warrant issued by a judge which authorizes the police to conduct a search of a person or location for evidence of a criminal offense. ... In United States criminal law, Probable cause refers to the standard by which a police officer may make an arrest or conduct a personal or property search. ... A knock and announce warrant, in the American law of criminal procedure, requires that the officer tasked with the responsibility of executing the warrant must knock on the door of the home to be entered for a search or arrest, and to announce their purpose. ... An exigent circumstance, in the American law of criminal procedure, allows law enforcement to enter a structure without a warrant, or if a they have a knock and announce warrant, without knocking and waiting for refusal under certain circumstances. ... Search and seizure is a legal procedure used in many common law whereby police, who suspect that a crime has been committed, do a search of a persons property and confiscate any relevant evidence to the crime. ... The Chicago Police Department arrests a man A protester is arrested during a demonstration. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Self-incrimination. ... The Miranda warning is given by police in the United States to suspects who are in police custody and are going to be asked guilt seeking questions. ... A grand jury is a type of common law jury responsible for investigating alleged crimes, examining evidence, and issuing indictments if they believe that there is enough evidence for a trial to proceed. ... Criminal procedure refers to the legal process for adjudicating claims that someone has violated the criminal law. ... A statute of limitations is a statute in a common law legal system setting forth the maximum period of time, after certain events, that legal proceedings based on those events may begin. ... Criminal jurisdiction is a term used in the law of criminal procedure to describe the power of a court to hear a case brought by the state accusing a criminal defendant of a violation of the law of the geographic area in which the court is located. ... An inquisitorial system is a legal system where the court or a part of the court is actively involved in determining the facts of the case, as opposed to an adversarial system where the role of the court is solely that of an impartial referee between parties. ... The adversarial system (or adversary system) of law is the system of law, generally adopted in common law countries, that relies on the skill of the different advocates representing their partys positions and not on some neutral party, usually the judge, trying to ascertain the truth of the case. ... Arraignment is a common law term for the formal reading of a criminal complaint, in the presence of the defendant, to inform him of the charges against him. ... In the common law legal system, an indictment is a formal charge of having committed a serious criminal offense. ... In law, a plea of nolo contendere means that the defendant does not admit the charge, but does not dispute it either. ... A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case in which a prosecutor and a defendant arrange to settle the case against the defendant. ... Headline text The rights of the accused is a class of rights in that apply to a person in the time period between when they are formally accused of a crime and when they are either convicted or acquitted. ... Presumption of innocence is a legal right that the accused enjoys in criminal trials in many modern nations. ... A jury trial is a trial in which the judge of the facts, as opposed to the judge of the law, is a jury, made up of citizens who are usually randomly selected and are generally not legal professionals. ... In criminal law, the right to a speedy trial can be used as either a procedural defense or a substantive defense in which a defendant argues that they should not be held criminally liable for actions which broke the law, because the prosecuting attorney failed to bring the case to... In English Common Law habeas corpus is the name of several writs which may be issued by a judge ordering a prisoner to be brought before the court. ... Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court in order to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail (skipping bail, or jumping bail, is also illegal). ... In United States constitutional law, the exclusionary rule is a legal principle holding that evidence collected or analyzed in violation of the U.S. Constitution is not admissible for a criminal prosecution in a court of law (that is, it cannot be used in a criminal trial). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Right to silence. ... Double jeopardy is a procedural defense (and, in the United States and India, a constitutional right) that forbids a defendant from being tried a second time for a crime, after having already been tried for the same crime. ... In law, a sentence forms the final act of a judge-ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. ... A mandatory sentence is a judicial decision setting the punishment to be inflicted on a person convicted of a crime where judicial discretion is limited by law. ... Parole can have different meanings depending on the context. ... Probation is the suspension of a prison or jail sentence - the criminal who is on probation has been convicted of a crime, but instead of serving prison time, has been found by the Court to be amenable to probation and will be returned to the community for a period in... Under British criminal law, a tariff is the minimum period that a person serving an indefinite prison sentence must serve before that person becomes eligible for parole. ... Life licence is a term used in the British criminal justice system for the conditions under which a prisoner sentenced to life in jail may be released. ... The statement that the government shall not inflict cruel and unusual punishment for crimes is found in the English Bill of Rights signed in 1689 by William of Orange and Queen Mary II who were then the joint rulers of England following the Glorious Revolution of 1688. ... ĢáŕŔÊŤť Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted felon as a punishment for a crime (often called a capital offence or a capital crime). ... An execution warrant is a warrant which authorizes the execution or capital punishment of an individual. ... Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of law that punishes criminals for committing offences against the state. ... The law of evidence governs the use of testimony (eg. ... Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the process that courts will follow when hearing cases of a civil nature (a civil action). These rules govern how a lawsuit or case may be commenced, what kind of service of process is required, the types of pleadings or... The rule of law implies that government authority may only be exercised in accordance with written laws, which were adopted through an established procedure. ... Amendment VI (the Sixth Amendment) of the United States Constitution guarantees rights related to criminal prosecutions in federal courts. ... The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. ... The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (also UDHR) is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (A/RES/217, December 10, 1948), outlining a view on basic human rights. ... The European Convention on Human Rights (1950) was adopted under the auspices of the Council of Europe† to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. ...

The essential ingredients for a fair and just civil trial must include a competent, neutral and detached judge (an independent judge); the absence of any intimidation of witnesses and ideally, an equal weight of arms i.e. a level playing field in terms of legal representation. A judge or justice is an official who presides over a court. ...

Divergent approaches

These are general principle, and, understandably, there exist divergent approaches and appreciation to what constitutes a fair trial. Proponents of both major classes of systems of criminal procedure (the adversarial system and the inquisitorial system) allege that their system offers defendent a fairer trial than the other system. There may be differences on points of procedures: for instance, some jurisdictions, in certain circumstances, allow trials of defendants in their absence (in absentia) while some other jurisdictions consider that a trial can only be fair if the defendant has attended it. Criminal procedure refers to the legal process for adjudicating claims that someone has violated the criminal law. ... The adversarial system (or adversary system) of law is the system of law, generally adopted in common law countries, that relies on the skill of the different advocates representing their partys positions and not on some neutral party, usually the judge, trying to ascertain the truth of the case. ... An inquisitorial system is a legal system where the court or a part of the court is actively involved in determining the facts of the case, as opposed to an adversarial system where the role of the court is solely that of an impartial referee between parties. ...

In cases of extradition, the extraditing country generally requires that the country requesting extradition offers the defendant a fair trial. In some cases, this has led to some procedural defenses by defendants who alleged that their trial would not be fair according to the rules of the extraditing country. As an example, murderer Ira Einhorn waged a legal battle against his extradition from France to the state of Pennsylvania on grounds that his trial occurred in absentia and rendered a final judgment. Extradition is a formal process by which a criminal suspect held by one government is handed over to another government for trial or, if the suspect has already been tried and found guilty, to serve his or her sentence. ... In jurisprudence, procedural defenses are a form of defense, via which a defendant may argue that they should not be held criminally liable for breaking the law, as the criminal justice program violated procedural law as it was creating its case, and trial, against said defendant. ... Ira Samuel Einhorn (born May 15, 1940) was an activist in the 1960s and 1970s who is now serving a life sentence for the murder of Holly Maddux in 1977. ... State nickname: The Keystone State Official languages None Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Governor Ed Rendell (D) Senators Arlen Specter (R) Rick Santorum (R) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 33rd 119,283 km² 2. ...

Other (historical) divergences are stated below.

Ingredients of a fair trial

Right to counsel

Nowadays, it is generally believed that a fair trial includes the possibility for the defendant to be assisted by counsel (i.e. lawyers), and that if he cannot afford having his own lawyer, the government should appoint one for him, or pay his lawyer expenses. However, this has not historically always been the case: In the United States, a lawyer is a person licensed by the state to advise clients in legal matters and represent them in courts of law and in other forms of dispute resolution. ...

• Before the Prisoners' Counsel Act (1836), felony defendants did not have the possibility of having a counsel in British courts. It was thought, at the time, that counsels would serve no purpose in criminal proceedings, where what matters is deciding fact: the defendant should simply tell the truth to the court, without the interference of some counsel.
• In the United States, while the right to counsel in trials by the federal government was recognized by the US Bill of Rights, the affirmation that this right extended to cases tried by state courts (i.e. most criminal trials, including for crimes such as murder in most cases) came much later. While some state supreme courts affirmed this right during the 19th century, it was only in 1963 that the US Supreme Court affirmed the right for defendants to have counsel in trials for serious crimes.

On the other hand, some other countries had adopted the right to counsel earlier on. For instance, the Napoleonic Code of Criminal Instruction, adopted in France in 1808 and inspiring many similar codes in civil law countries, made it compulsory that the defendant should have a lawyer when tried in the assize courts (which judged severe crimes). 1836 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... United States Bill of Rights The Bill of Rights is the name given to the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. ... First page of the 1804 original edition The original Napoleonic Code, or Code Napoléon (originally called the Code civil des français, or civil code of the French), was the French civil code, established at the behest of Napoléon I. It entered into force on March 21, 1804. ... 1808 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Civil law is a legal system derived from Roman law and commonly used in Europe. ... The Courts of Assize, or Assizes, is the name of criminal courts in several countries. ...