Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Terrorism and Counter-terrorism Fact Sheet No

F. Due process and the right to a fair trial
Guaranteeing due process rights, including for individuals suspected of 
terrorist activity, is critical for ensuring that anti-terrorism measures are 
effective and respect the rule of law. The human rights protections for all 
persons charged with criminal offences, including terrorism-related crimes, 
include the right to be presumed innocent, the right to a hearing with due 
guarantees and within a reasonable time, by a competent, independent 
and impartial tribunal, and the right to have a conviction and sentence 
reviewed by a higher tribunal satisfying the same standards.
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 International 
humanitarian law provides for substantially similar protections for the trial 
of persons in the context of armed conflicts.
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In July 2007, the Human Rights Committee adopted general comment 
N° 32, revising its general comment on article 14 of the International 
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on the right to a fair trial and 
equality before the courts and tribunals. The revised general comment 
notes that the right to a fair trial and to equality before the courts and 
tribunals is a key element of human rights protection and serves to safeguard 
the rule of law by procedural means. Article 14 of the Covenant aims at 
ensuring the proper administration of justice and to this end guarantees a 
series of specific rights, including that all persons should be equal before 
the courts and tribunals, that in criminal or civil cases everyone has a right 
to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial 
tribunal, that everyone charged with a criminal offence should have the 
right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law, and 
that everyone convicted of a crime should have the right to have his or her 
conviction and sentence reviewed by a higher tribunal according to law.
The former Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human 
Rights for many years addressed issues related to terrorism and human 
rights, including the administration of justice through military tribunals. 

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The use of military and special tribunals or courts to try terrorist suspects 
may also have a serious impact on due process rights, depending on the 
nature of the tribunal or court and any restrictions placed on a person 
facing charges before it.
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In particular, the circumstances are rare in which 
a military court will be the appropriate venue to try a civilian.
A number of other counter-terrorism measures adopted by Member States 
have had a serious impact on due process-related rights for individuals 
suspected of terrorism, as well as their families, including the listing and 
de-listing of individuals and groups as terrorist or associated entities, both 
by the Security Council Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee and 
by national procedures.
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While targeted sanctions against individuals 
suspected of involvement in terrorist activity may be an effective tool in 
a State’s efforts to combat terrorism, such procedures pose a number of 
serious challenges to human rights. Measures should be taken to ensure 
a transparent listing and de-listing process, based on clear criteria, and 
with an appropriate, explicit and uniformly applied standard of evidence, 
as well as an effective, accessible and independent mechanism of review 
for the individuals and States concerned. At a minimum, the standards 
required to ensure fair and clear procedures must include the right of 
an individual to be informed of the measures taken and to know the 
case against him or her as soon as, and to the extent, possible, without 
thwarting the purpose of the sanctions regimes; the right to be heard 
within a reasonable time by the relevant decision-making body; the right 
to effective review by a competent and independent review mechanism; 
the right to counsel with respect to all proceedings; and the right to an 
effective remedy.
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