THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL AND A FAST TRIAL: THE EXPERIENCE OF THE UNITED STATES

The article is devoted to the consideration of the constitutional right to a trial by a jury, as well as the right to a speedy trial in accordance with the provisions of the Sixth Amendment to the US Constitution. It is noted that as of today in Ukraine there is a question of ensuring the actual (real) participation of the people in the administration of justice and the creation of an appropriate mechanism for the realization of such a right of the people. It is established that the permanent evolution of the jury trial in the world as a full-fledged element of participatory democracy allows us to assert the possibility of applying the best foreign experience in this area and for Ukraine. It is noted that the jury trial, which is typical for the United States, is undoubtedly a consequence of the borrowing of English legal customs, but has its own special features. It has been established that the right to a speedy trial should be distinguished from other constitutional rights, as it concerns the interests of society and the justice system more than the interests of the accused. The circumstances that suggest whether a trial is in fact "fast" are rather vague, as each such proceeding is to some extent unique. The requirements for members of the jury are set out in the Jury Selection Act. It is noted that the release of jurors varies depending on the state. One of the grounds for such dismissal is professional activity. For example, doctors, lawyers, public figures, police or firefighters. At the same time, this practice is gradually ceasing to be natural. It is concluded that the jury trial as a form of public participation in the administration of justice is undoubtedly a democratic legal institution. Direct democracy in the exercise of judicial power, which is carried out in compliance with the principles of publicity and adversarial proceedings promotes the establishment of citizens' faith in the fairness of judicial decisions.

An Assessment of Right to Fair Trial Under the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973: A Comparative Study of the US and Pakistan

Right to fair trial is considered as the basic right affirmed by Islam and recognised by different international documents i.e., ICCPR, UDHR, etc. In Pakistan, the notion of fair trial has been incorporated through Article 10-A through 18th constitutional amendment. The two amendments were made in the US Constitution in 18th and 19th century i.e., 6th and 14th amendments which safeguards right to speedy trial, impartial jury, public trial and equal protection of law. The Investigation for Fair Trial Act, 2013, permits the use of new methods in collection of evidence and also bridles arbitrary powers from being used. However, being dissimilar to the essence of the Constitution, 21st Amendment was made to adopt Pakistan Army Act, 2015 in order to control the extremism. The key purpose of the article is to assess how far the efforts for the enforcement of right to fair trial in Pakistan are sufficient?

Prohibition of Stay of Proceedings in Criminal Litigations under ACJA/EFCC Acts and Speedy Dispensation of Justice: Olisah Metuh V FRN (2017) 5–7 MJSC 83

Considering the reality that criminal proceedings suffer unwarranted delay due to spatial of antics habitually utilized by litigants to delay proceedings, this paper explores the judgment of the Supreme Court in Methu v FRN to determine whether, or not, exclusion of stay of proceedings is constitutional. The authors employed mainly doctrinal method, thus library based. It is established that antics and technicalities often employ by litigants/counsel in corruption cases constitute impediment to speedy trial of indicted individual in courts. The judgment under review validates the constitutionality of proscription of stay of proceedings and remedied the unwholesome attitude of litigants/counsel to deliberately delay/frustrate criminal proceedings. Similarly, the risk of denying the state of its synergy to fight corruption vide delay in securing expeditious hearing and trial of cases is extinguished and constitutional right of the accused, the victim of crime and the state to fair hearing within reasonable time reaffirmed. It is concluded that the innovative insertion of prohibition on stay of proceedings in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) and Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) Act mechanisms put in place to check delay in prosecuting crime of corruption, and therefore, does not infringe on the fundamental right of an accused person to fair hearing.

Issues of National Security and Human Rights in Nigeria: A Case Study of Islamic Movement of Nigeria

This paper examined issues of national security and human rights in Nigeria with emphasis on the conflicts between the federal government and the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN). The objectives of the paper included to determine the nature of national security and human rights in Nigeria vis-à-vis the Islamic Movement of Nigeria; identity the contentious issues that triggered the conflicts and undermined national security and human rights between the federal government and the Islamic Movement of Nigeria; determine the implications of continued crackdown of IMN members and detention of their leader, El-Zakzaky and his wife on national security and human rights violations in Nigeria, and make necessary recommendations on how these issues can be amicably resolved without compromising national security and human rights of Nigerians, especially IMN members. This research has become imperative in view of the continued detention of Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky by the security operatives in Nigeria since 2015 in spite of court orders without concluding the trials. This has caused great concern to Nigerians with daily debates on the implications of this prolonged incarceration of the duo on national security and human rights in a democratic system of government. This paper was anchored on the “Family Theory in Clinical Practice”. The ‘Family Theory’ stressed the need to understand and consider the emotional functioning of a family or group as the basis for religious or political indoctrination, radicalisation, extremism and deviant behaviour that may be antagonistic to acceptable societal norms and values. This paper adopted descriptive research design. Data used for the study were gathered from secondary sources as content analysis was used in the interpretation of data. The paper found that the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) members were justified in their protest against military crackdown, detention and proscription. The paper observed that the over five year’s detention of Sheikh El-Zakzaky by the Nigerian government without trial amounts to the violation of his constitutionally guaranteed and legally protected human rights. This paper recommends the immediate and unconditional release of the Shiites leader from detention, speedy trial and respect for judicial pronouncements by the Nigerian government without compromising national security and human rights.

Domestic violence in Rawalpindi

Introduction: Objectives: To study the prevalence of domestic torture in Rawalpindi. Study design: Retrospective, cross-sectional. Place and duration of study: DHQ Hospital Rawalpindi, from 1st January 2016 to 31st Dec 2016. Material and methods: Record of Medico-legal cases of domestic violence was obtained from DHQ Hospital Rawalpindi. Analysis of all the domestic torture cases regarding age group involved, injury pattern, pregnant/non-pregnant victims, urban/rural distribution and culprits were done. Results: A total of 118 cases of domestic torture reported at the DHQ Hospital Rawalpindi. All the victims were females, 110 cases of blunt trauma and 8 cases of firearm injuries reported. 12 females were pregnant, the most common age group of victims was 20-30 years, and 113 cases belonged to urban areas as compared to only 5 cases of rural area. Conclusion: Effective legislation, strict implementation, awareness among public and speedy trial is required to control cases of violence in the society. Keywords: Violence, torture, society and domestic.