The Right to a Public Trial in International Human Rights Law and in the Constitutions of African Countries
The Right to a Public Trial in International Human Rights Law and in the Constitutions of African Countries

Summary/Abstract: Article 14(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) provides, inter alia, for the right to a “fair and public hearing”. It also provides for some of the circumstances in which a court may exclude “the press and the public…from all or part of a trial” and for instances in which a judgement may not be published. The drafting history of Article 14(1) shows that although, as a general rule, trials have to be held in public and judgements published, the drafters did not approve the suggestion that a court should give reasons for each judgement. However, the Human Rights Committee, while interpreting Article 14(1), has recommended that each judgement should include reasons. At the regional level, the right to a public trial is approached differently in the European Convention on Human Rights, the Arab Charter on Human Rights, the American Convention on Human Rights, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The author argues or demonstrates that the provisions in the regional human rights have been interpreted or may be interpreted to provide the same or similar safeguards as those under Article 14(1) of the ICCPR. The author reviews the constitutions of all African countries and demonstrates that they have followed six different approaches in their effort(s) to protect the right to a public trial.

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