Principles Governing the Fair Trial Process from the Perspective of Criminal Procedure

Abstract

The principles of fair and equitable trial, which are based on the ideal goal of justice-centered justice in judicial proceedings, have always been emphasized in the teachings of various divine religions, especially the revealing religion of Islam. In addition to the general emphasis of the divine commandments of the Islamic religion on observing justice and fairness in all matters, attention to justice in the position of judgment has been emphasized more than any other position.

Criminal proceedings are a method of discovering the truth, and ensuring that judicial proceedings lead us to discover the truth correctly depends on full compliance with the rules that have been established in advance for this purpose.

For the first time in the history of the country's codified criminal law, the legislator of the Islamic Republic of Iran, by approving the Criminal Procedure Code of 1392, recognized the most important principles governing a fair and just trial in the first chapter of the first part (general) of this law under the title of Definition of Criminal Procedure and Principles Governing It (Articles 2 to 7) and in the following sections, it has foreseen the manifestations and guarantees of compliance with these principles at various stages of the trial, including: evidence of the legality of the criminal trial, guaranteeing the rights of the parties to the lawsuit, the principle of equality of individuals before the law, the principle of impartiality and independence of the judicial authority, the principle of speed and non-delay of the trial, the principle of innocence, the principles of the need for the accused to be immediately informed of the matter and evidence of the accusation, the principle of the accused's right of access to a lawyer and other defense rights, the principle of the need for other persons involved in the criminal process to be informed of their rights.