Article 5.Prohibition on Breaching Citizens’ Rights and Freedoms
It is prohibited to arrest, detain or conduct any building search without an order from a public prosecutor or from a people’s court, except in the case of an on-the-spot arrest12 or in the case of urgency. In the case when an arrest or detention contradicts the laws, or is a detention [or] deprivation of liberty13 beyond the period provided for in the laws or in a court decision, the public prosecutor14 shall issue an order to release [the arrested or jailed person] immediately.
Article 7. Guarantee of Right of Defence to Accused Person
An accused person has the right to defend the case. The accused person may defend himself or have a lawyer to provide him legal assistance.
The people’s courts, public prosecutors, interrogators17 and investigators shall guarantee the right of defence in the proceedings to an accused person in order to protect his legitimate rights and interests.
The claimant18 shall bring evidence to prove his claim and to prove that the accused person or defendant committed the offence. The offender, accused person, or defendant has the right to present evidence to defend himself, but shall not be forced to bring evidence to prove his innocence.
Article 8 Presumption of Innocence
In criminal proceedings, as long as the accused person or defendant has not yet been convicted [pursuant to] a final decision of the people’s courts as a wrong-doer, he shall be regarded as innocent and shall be treated properly.
Article 9. The Right of the Courts to Adjudicate Cases
Only the people’s courts have the jurisdiction to adjudicate a criminal case[;] no individual shall be deemed an offender or be punished criminally without a court decision.
Article 12. Language Used in Proceedings
Court proceedings must be in the Lao language. Persons who participate in the proceedings who do not know the Lao language have the right to use their own language or other languages through translation.
Article 17.
- In the taking of testimony from the accused person or defendant, or from individuals who participate in the proceedings, it is prohibited to use violence, force, threats, beating, or other unlawful measures.
Article 28.
An accused or a defendant has the right to:
1. Be informed of and defend against the charge made against him;
2. Submit evidence;
3. Submit requests;
4. Ask to see the documents in the case file, to make a copy of required documents from the file, or to make notes of necessary information contained in the file, after investigation has been completed;
5. Retain and meet with a lawyer or other protector to contest47 the case;
Article 28.
An accused or a defendant has the right to:
6. Participate in court hearings;
7. Require the recusal of a judge, public prosecutor, interrogator, investigator, expert, or translator;
8. Complain against acts and orders of investigators, interrogators, public prosecutors, or the people’s courts that he believes48 to be unlawful;
9. Make a final statement in court hearings as the last party;
10. Appeal against, or request the cancellation of, an order of an investigator, an interrogator, or a public prosecutor, or an instruction, order, or decision of the people’s courts.
Article 35.
A lawyer and a protector [each] has the right to:
1. Meet the accused or defendant;
2. Ask to see documents in the case file, to make a copy of required documents from the file, or to make notes of necessary information contained in the file, after investigation has been completed;
3. Submit evidence;
4. Submit requests;
5. Participate in court hearings and provide opinions;
6. Require the recusal of a judge, public prosecutor, interrogator, investigator, expert, or translator;
7. Complain against the acts and orders of an investigator, an interrogator, a public prosecutor, or the people’s courts that he believes to be unlawful;
8.Appeal against, or request the cancellation of, an order of an investigator, an interrogator, or a public prosecutor, or an instruction, order, or decision of the people’s courts;
9. Receive protection under the laws and regulations from any threat to life, health, or property because of contesting the case on behalf of his client.
Article 43.
At the beginning of taking testimony from an accused person, the investigator or interrogator shall notify [the accused person] of the charges and explain to the concerned accused person his rights and obligations.
1. In respect of an investigation under this Statute, a person:
(a) Shall not be compelled to incriminate himself or herself or to confess guilt;
(b) Shall not be subjected to any form of coercion, duress or threat, to torture or to any other form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
(c) Shall, if questioned in a language other than a language the person fully understands and speaks, have, free of any cost, the assistance of a competent interpreter and such translations as are necessary to meet the requirements of fairness; and
(d) Shall not be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention, and shall not be deprived of his or her liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedures as are established in this Statute.
2. Where there are grounds to believe that a person has committed a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court and that person is about to be questioned either by the Prosecutor, or by national authorities pursuant to a request made under Part 9, that person shall also have the following rights of which he or she shall be informed prior to being questioned:
(a) To be informed, prior to being questioned, that there are grounds to believe that he or she has committed a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court;
(b) To remain silent, without such silence being a consideration in the determination of guilt or innocence;
(c) To have legal assistance of the person's choosing, or, if the person does not have legal assistance, to have legal assistance assigned to him or her, in any case where the interests of justice so require, and without payment by the person in any such case if the person does not have sufficient means to pay for it; and
(d) To be questioned in the presence of counsel unless the person has voluntarily waived his or her right to counsel.
1. The accused shall be present during the trial.
2. If the accused, being present before the Court, continues to disrupt the trial, the Trial Chamber may remove the accused and shall make provision for him or her to observe the trial and instruct counsel from outside the courtroom, through the use of communications technology, if required. Such measures shall be taken only in exceptional circumstances after other reasonable alternatives have proved inadequate, and only for such duration as is strictly required.
1. Everyone shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty before the Court in accordance with the applicable law.
2. The onus is on the Prosecutor to prove the guilt of the accused.
3. In order to convict the accused, the Court must be convinced of the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt.
1. In the determination of any charge, the accused shall be entitled to a public hearing, having regard to the provisions of this Statute, to a fair hearing conducted impartially, and to the following minimum guarantees, in full equality:
(a) To be informed promptly and in detail of the nature, cause and content of the charge, in a language which the accused fully understands and speaks;
(b) To have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of the defence and to communicate freely with counsel of the accused's choosing in confidence;
(c) To be tried without undue delay;
(d) Subject to article 63, paragraph 2, to be present at the trial, to conduct the defence in person or through legal assistance of the accused's choosing, to be informed, if the accused does not have legal assistance, of this right and to have legal assistance assigned by the Court in any case where the interests of justice so require, and without payment if the accused lacks sufficient means to pay for it;
(e) To examine, or have examined, the witnesses against him or her and to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on his or her behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him or her. The accused shall also be entitled to raise defences and to present other evidence admissible under this Statute;
(f) To have, free of any cost, the assistance of a competent interpreter and such translations as are necessary to meet the requirements of fairness, if any of the proceedings of or documents presented to the Court are not in a language which the accused fully understands and speaks;
(g) Not to be compelled to testify or to confess guilt and to remain silent, without such silence being a consideration in the determination of guilt or innocence;
(h) To make an unsworn oral or written statement in his or her defence; and
(i) Not to have imposed on him or her any reversal of the burden of proof or any onus of rebuttal.
2. In addition to any other disclosure provided for in this Statute, the Prosecutor shall, as soon as practicable, disclose to the defence evidence in the Prosecutor's possession or control which he or she believes shows or tends to show the innocence of the accused, or to mitigate the guilt of the accused, or which may affect the credibility of prosecution evidence. In case of doubt as to the application of this paragraph, the Court shall decide.