CHAPTER FOUR: Fair trial rights The present chapter will focus on the compliance by Palestinian criminal courts with basic fair trial rights. Fair trial standards are at the core of the rule of law and are enshrined in a number of international instruments. Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights speaks of the right of everyone to a fair and public hearing in full equality. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) contains provisions on fair trials in its Article 14. Fair trial rights are guaranteed in the Palestinian Constitution Articles 11 to 15. The procedural guarantees afforded by such provisions often play an important role in the implementation of substantive guarantees pertaining to other fundamental rights. Fair trial standards are also relevant to the exercise of the right to an effective remedy, such Article 2(3) of the ICCPR. The following paragraphs will present observations by ISTIQLAL monitors in relation to the main fair trial guarantees that are enshrined in the above-mentioned international human rights tools and Palestinian domestic law. 1. Right to a trial by a tribunal established by law A first fundamental guarantee in criminal proceedings is the right to be tried by a tribunal established by law. A legal framework under which the judicial organization is sufficiently regulated by law emanating from Parliament is needed in order to ensure that the organization of the judiciary in a democratic society does not depend on the discretion of the executive powers. A body that has not been set up through the law would necessarily lack the legitimacy that is needed in a democratic society for such a body to try and sentence individuals belonging to a given society. The requirement that a tribunal be established by law is to create legal certainty and ensure independence of the judiciary. ISTIQLAL noted no particular concerns related to the right to a trial by a tribunal established by law. All judicial bodies whose hearings were monitored in the courts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip were formed correctly and in accordance with law. Courts’ jurisdiction and functions in Palestine are regulated by the Law on Courts, which vests the High Judicial Council with the authority to regulate the organization of Courts throughout the Palestinian territory. Since the division between the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2007, a High Judicial Council was formed in the Gaza Strip, which exercises the same powers on the organization of First Instance Courts in the Gaza Strip. 37