119.
In Benham v The United Kingdom*', the applicant had been
charged with non-payment of a debt and faced a maximum
of three
(3) months
in prison. The
European
Court
penalty
held that this
potential sentence was severe enough that the interests of justice
demanded that the applicant ought to have benefited from legal aid.
In Salduz v Turkey, the Court held that legal aid should be available
for people accused or suspected of a crime, irrespective of the nature
of the particular crime and that legal assistance is particularly crucial
for people suspected of serious crimes.@2
120.
Human
The
Court
draws
Rights Committee
inspiration
from
the jurisprudence
on the interpretation and
of the
application
of
Article 14(3)(d) of the ICCPR. This is with respect to Anthony Currie
v Jamaica, whose circumstances are similar to those of the Applicant
in
the
case
before
this
Court,
as
they
both
raised
issues
of
compliance with constitutional guarantees of their rights to fair trial in
their criminal trials and appeals.
Rights Committee
In this communication,
the Human
held that Article 14(3)(d) of the ICCPR
requires
the provision of legal aid in the course of criminal proceedings, where
the interests of justice so require.”28
21 Application No 19380/92, Judgment of 10 June 1996 (Grand Chamber).
22 Application No. 36391/02, Salduz v Turkey, Judgment of 27 November 2008 (Grand
Chamber) paragraph 54.
23 Communication Number 377/89 paragraph 13.2.
“The author has claimed that the absence of legal aid for the purpose of filing a constitutional
motion itself constitutes a violation of the Covenant. The Committee
notes that the Covenant
does not contain an express obligation as such for a State to provide legal aid for individuals in
all cases but only, in accordance with article 14 (3) (d), in the determination of a criminal charge
where the interests of justice so require’.
WM
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