Chapter 7 • The Right to a Fair Trial: Part II – From Trial to Final Judgement Procedure and Evidence of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia also refers to the possibility of the Trial Chamber going into closed session for reasons of public order or morality, safety, security or non-disclosure of the identity of a victim or witness as provided in Rule 75, or for the protection of the interests of justice. However, “the Trial Chamber shall make public the reasons for its order” (Rule 79(B)). In General Comment No. 13, on article 14 of the Covenant, the Human Rights Committee emphasized that “the publicity of hearings is an important safeguard in the interest of the individual and of society at large”. Apart from the “exceptional circumstances” provided for in article 14(1), “ a hearing must be open to the public in general, including members of the press, and must not, for instance, be limited only to a particular category of persons”.38 Notwithstanding the non-publicity of the trial itself, “the judgement must, with certain strictly defined exceptions, be made public” under article 14 of the Covenant.39 The duty to hold suits of law in public under article 14(1) is incumbent on the State, and “is not dependent on any request, by the interested party ... Both domestic legislation and judicial practice must provide for the possibility of the public attending, if members of the public so wish”.40 This duty further implies that “Courts must make information on time and venue of the oral hearings available to the public and provide for adequate facilities for the attendance of interested members of the public, within reasonable limits, taking into account, e.g., the potential public interest in the case, the duration of the oral hearing and the time the formal request for publicity has been made. Failure of the court to make large courtrooms available does not constitute a violation of the right to a public hearing, if in fact no interested member of the public is barred from attending an oral hearing.”41 The principle of publicity means that trials taking place in secret are contrary to article 14(1), such as in the case of eight former Zairian parliamentarians and one businessman whose trial – among other shortcomings – was not held in public and who were sentenced to fifteen years’ imprisonment, with the exception of the businessman, who received a five-year prison sentence.42 Article 14(1) has naturally been violated in cases where the hearing has taken place in camera when the State party has failed to justify this measure in accordance with the terms of the Covenant.43 ***** 38 United Nations Compilation of General Comments, pp. 123-124, para. 6. 39 Ibid., para. 6 at p. 124. 40 Communication No. 215/1986, G. A. van Meurs v. the Netherlands (Views adopted on 13 July 1990), in UN doc. GAOR, A/45/40 (vol. II), p. 59, para. 6.1. 41 Ibid., p. 60, para. 6.2. 42 Communication No. 138/1983, N. Mpandanjila et al. v. Zaire (Views adopted on 26 March 1986), in UN doc. GAOR, A/41/40, p. 126, para. 8.2. 43 Communication No. 74/1980, M. A. Estrella v. Uruguay (Views adopted on 29 March 1983), in UN doc. GAOR, A/38/40, p. 159, para. 10. Human Rights in the Administration of Justice: A Manual on Human Rights for Judges, Prosecutors and Lawyers 263