Ensuring the Defendant's Right to Defense in the Case Dealt with in Defendant's Absence as a Universal Standard of Justice

When the case is brought before the international criminal court (a tribunal), a court of universal international jurisdiction, the defendant is granted the right to defense. One of its components includes safeguarding of the right to participate in the criminal proceedings initiated against him. In practice, it may be difficult to ensure this safeguard. Thus, even if the accused is properly informed of the case initiated against him, he may ignore the proceedings or refuse to participate in the trial. There may be difficulties in enforcing a restraining measure related to isolation from the society, including cases when the accused is located in a State different from the State of the forum. Even during the proceedings, the accused can be removed from the courtroom for the violation of order, contempt of the court or insulting a participant in the proceedings. Judicial proceedings in the absence of an accused person in international and national law are not treated separately as a special and separate form of proceedings, but rather as a routine procedure with a number of exceptions. The refusal to allocate as an independent proceeding the trial in the absence of the defendant is based on the narrowness of foundations for its use and practice that does not accept the absence of the defendant in criminal proceedings. In these cases, the problem of a fair trial arises in the absence of the person being prosecuted but with respect to his or her rights.

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