Section II: Guarantees of a fair trial: the role of the Court of Cassation 1. The right to a fair trial is a criterion of the international human rights law, and it aims to protect people from the diminution of their rights relating to their legal positions before the judiciary from the moment of their arrest and during their detention before being brought to trial and during trial, until the last stages of the trial in the appeal or court of cassation. The trial cannot be considered a fair trial, or a just trial unless two conditions are met at least: first, the whole proceedings from beginning to end are to be guided by the Constitution and domestic legislation that govern its work, and the instruments developed by the international community, second: that an independent and impartial judicial authority applies such regulatory procedures. 2. T  he Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain guaranteed this right in Article No. (20) thereof, which referred to a set of guarantees, such as the principle of legitimacy that there is no crime or punishment except under the law, and lack of punishment for previous acts prior to the law being applied. It also dealt with the personal punishment and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty in a legal trial which includes all the necessary guarantees to ensure the exercise of the right of defense at all stages, as well as the prohibition of physical or moral torture. 3. At the level of international instruments, the right to enjoy guarantees of a fair trial has created a framework of protection in Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which acceded the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain under Law No. International Covenant (56) for the year 2006, which included a group of guarantees almost universal for all stages of the trial, specifically paragraph (5) of the same article, which stipulates that: “any person convicted of a crime has the right to resort, according to the law, to the highest court in order for it to reconsider his conviction and his sentence”. 4. The Court of Cassation is considered the highest body in the judicial system, and it is a court of law that specializes in ensuring that correct procedures are being followed during lawsuits and that legal outcomes of the courts of first instance or appellate are correct. The task of this court is limited to ensuring that correct judgments were issued by the ordinary courts and that they are based on valid legal procedures according to the law, as it doesn’t reconsider the merits of the case and does not interfere in the proceedings. 5. The provisions of Decree Law No. (8) of 1989 were organized by issuing the Court of Cassation Law and its amendments, establishing the court, its composition and terms of reference and appeals presented to it in civil and commercial cases and the personal status of non-Muslims and criminal materials, to add further protection of the right to the enjoyment of the guarantees of fair trial through the implementation of Article (14) paragraph (5) of the international Covenant on civil and political Rights. 58