Chapter 6 • The Right to a Fair Trial: Part I – From Investigation to Trial The principle of equality must be guaranteed throughout the pre-trial and trial stages, in that every suspected or accused person has the right not to be discriminated against in the way the investigations or trials are conducted or in the way the law is applied to them. The principle of equality also means that every human being must have equal access to the courts in order to claim their rights. In particular, women must have access to courts on an equal footing with men, in order to be able to claim their rights effectively. 5. The Right to be Presumed Innocent: the Overall Guarantee from Suspicion to Conviction or Acquittal The right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty is another principle that conditions the treatment to which an accused person is subjected throughout the period of criminal investigations and trial proceedings, up to and including the end of the final appeal. Article 14(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides that “everyone charged with a criminal offence shall have the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law”. Article 7(1)(b) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, article 8(2) of the American Convention on Human Rights and article 6(2) of the European Convention on Human Rights all also guarantee the right to presumption of innocence, and article 11(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights safeguards the same right for everyone “charged with a penal offence ... until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence”. More recently, the principle of presumption of innocence has in particular been included in article 20(3) of the Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, article 21(3) of the Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and in article 66(1) of the Statute of the International Criminal Court. ***** As noted by the Human Rights Committee in General Comment No. 13, the principle of presumption of innocence means that “the burden of proof of the charge is on the prosecution and the accused has the benefit of doubt. No guilt can be presumed until the charge has been proved beyond reasonable doubt. Further, the presumption of innocence implies a right to be treated in accordance with this principle. It is, therefore, a duty for all public authorities to refrain from prejudging the outcome of a trial”.8 8 General Comment No. 13 (Article 14), in UN Compilation of General Comments, p. 124, para. 7. Human Rights in the Administration of Justice: A Manual on Human Rights for Judges, Prosecutors and Lawyers 219