The Court underscores that domestic courts enjoy a wide margin of
appreciation in evaluating the probative value of a particular evidence.
As an international human rights court, the Court cannot take up this
role from the domestic courts and investigate the details and
particularities of evidence used in domestic proceedings. However, the
fact that an allegation raises questions relating to the manner in which
evidence was examined by domestic courts does not preclude the
Court from determining whether the domestic procedures fulfilled
international human rights standards.
96. The essence of the above approach is that the Court will, generally, be slow
to interfere with factual and evidential findings made by domestic courts
except where there is manifest irregularity resulting in a miscarriage of
justice. In the present matter, the Applicants make several allegations the
crux of which is that their right to a fair trial was compromised due to the
manner in which the proceedings before the High Court and the Court of
Appeal were conducted. The Court will, below, address each of the
allegations made by the Applicants.
i.
Lack of corroboration for the Applicants’ caution statements
97. The Applicants submit that both the High Court and the Court of Appeal
“erred in law and fact when they failed to consider that the alleged applicants
caution statements were never corroborated despite having relied on them
as basis for convicting and upholding the applicants’ convictions.”
*
98. The Respondent State submits that the Applicants’ allegations lack merit
and should be dismissed. In support of its submissions, it points out that
Exhibit P10 “was admitted without any objection at the trial court as noted
by the Court of Appeal at page 7 of its judgment. The trial court found that
that the makers of the confession statement were speaking nothing but the
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