CHAPTER III
PROTECTION OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS OF THE INDIVIDUAL

Article 20
Provisions to secure protection of law

(2) Every person who is charged with a criminal offence —
(a) shall be presumed to be innocent until he is proved or has pleaded guilty;
(b) shall be informed as soon as reasonably practicable, in a language that he understands and in detail, of the nature of the offence charged;
(c) shall be given adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence;
(d) shall be permitted to defend himself before the court in person or, at his own expense, by a legal representative of his own choice or by a legal representative at the public expense where so provided by or under a law in force in The Bahamas;
(e) shall be afforded facilities to examine in person or by his legal representative the witnesses called by the prosecution before the court, and to obtain the attendance and carry out the examination of witnesses to testify on his behalf before the court on the same conditions as those applying to witnesses called by the prosecution;
(f) shall be permitted to have without payment the assistance of an interpreter if he cannot understand the language used at the trial of the charge; and
(g) shall, when charged on information in the Supreme Court, have the right to trial by jury,

and except with his own consent the trial shall not take place in his absence unless he so conducts himself in the court as to render the continuance of the proceedings in his presence impracticable and the court has ordered him to be removed and the trial to proceed in his absence.

CHAPTER 91

PART IV
GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS AND PROCEEDINGS

115. (1) Every person accused of any criminal offence shall be entitled to be present in court during the whole of his trial unless he so conducts himself in the court as to render the continuance of the proceedings in his presence impossible. The court may, however, in its discretion and subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of section 106 of this Code, allow any part of any trial to take place in the absence of the accused with the consent of the accused, and may permit the accused to be absent in such case upon such terms as it thinks proper.
For the purposes of this section, the consent of the accused person to the conduct of the trial in his absence shall be deemed to have been given in a case in which he enters a written plea of guilty under the provisions of section 66 of this Code.

(2) Every person accused of any criminal offence, whether present in person or absent in accordance with the provisions of this section, may be defended before any court by a legal practitioner except in a case in which the provisions of section 66 of this Code apply and a written plea of guilty has been entered.

CHAPTER 91

PART VIII
PROCEDURE IN TRIALS BEFORE MAGISTRATES' COURTS

198. At the time and place appointed for any adjourned hearing, a magistrate's court shall have the same powers to proceed with, dismiss or adjourn the case as if the complainant was before the court for the first time:
Provided that the court shall not proceed with the case in the absence of the accused person unless it is satisfied that in all the circumstances of the case such person has consented to the trial taking place in his absence.