Chapter 6 • The Right to a Fair Trial: Part I – From Investigation to Trial Under article 6(3)(a) of the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Court held that it was sufficient in order to comply with this provision that the applicants were given a “charge-sheet” within respectively ten hours and one hour and a quarter after their arrest; these charge-sheets contained information about the charge (breach of the peace) as well as the date and place of its commission.69 However, article 6(3)(a) was violated in a case where the applicant, who was of foreign origin, had informed the Italian authorities of his difficulties in understanding the judicial notification that had been served on him, asking them to send the information to him in his mother tongue or in one of the official languages of the United Nations. He received no answer to his letter and the authorities continued to draw up the documents in Italian. The Court observed that “the Italian judicial authorities should have taken steps to comply with [the applicant’s request] so as to ensure observance of the requirements of [article 6(3)(a)] unless they were in a position to establish that the applicant in fact had sufficient knowledge of Italian to understand from the notification the purport of the letter notifying him of the charges brought against him”.70 Every person charged with a criminal offence must be informed promptly in a language which he or she understands of the charges against him, with details being given as to the facts and the law on which the charge is based. This information must be given in good time before the trial so as to allow the accused person to effectively prepare his or her defence. 6.4 The right to legal assistance The right to prompt legal assistance upon arrest and detention is essential in many respects, both in order to guarantee the right to an efficient defence and for the purpose of protecting the physical and mental integrity of the person deprived of his or her liberty. While all relevant human rights treaties guarantee the right of an accused to legal counsel of one’s own choosing (art. 14(3(d) of the International Covenant, art. 7(1)(c) of the African Charter and art. 6(3)(c) of the European Convention), article 8(2)(d) of the American Convention on Human Rights provides moreover that during criminal proceedings every accused person has the right “to communicate freely and privately with his counsel”(emphasis added). Neither the International Covenant, the African Charter nor the European Convention contains a similar express protection of the confidentiality of the client-lawyer relationship. However, Rule 93 of the 1955 United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners provides that 69 Eur. Court. HR, Case of Steel and Others v. the United Kingdom, judgment of 23 September 1998, Reports 1998-VII, p. 2741, para. 85. 70 Eur. Court HR, Case of Brozicek v. Italy, judgment of 19 December 1989, Series A, No. 167, p. 18, para. 41. Human Rights in the Administration of Justice: A Manual on Human Rights for Judges, Prosecutors and Lawyers 235