188. Article 7 (l) (d) of the African Charter not only provides that a person
accused of a criminal offence has the right to be tried without undue
delay/within a reasonable time by an impartial tribunal or court, but that an
individual who is accused and held in custody has the right to have his case
promptly resolved. (See African Commission, HAREGEWOIN GABRESALASSIE AND IHRDA (ON BEHALF OF FORMER DERGUE
OFFICIALS) v. FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA,
Communication No. 301/2005, 5 November 2011, § 215)
189. In the same vein, the Human Rights Committee has noted that the right
of the accused to be tried without undue delay provided for in article 14,
paragraph 3 (c) is not only intended to avoid keeping persons for too long in
a state of uncertainty about their fate and, if held in detention during the
period of the trial, to ensure that such deprivation of liberty does not last
longer than is necessary in the circumstances of the particular case, but also
to serve the interests of justice. (See General Comment No 32, Article 14:
Right to equality before courts and tribunals and to a fair trial, para. 35; See
also the Inter-American Court, in the case of SAUREZ-ROSERO v.
ECUADOR, judgment of 12 November 1997 § 70)
190. In its “Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Fair Trial and Legal
Assistance in Africa”, p.15§5, the African Commission, also noted that any
person arrested on a criminal charge should be brought before a judicial
officer authorised by law to exercise judicial power and should be entitled to
trial within a reasonable time or to release.
191. The right to an impartial hearing within a reasonable time is further
reinforced by the “Commission's Resolution on Fair trial”, which provides
that persons arrested or detained or facing criminal charges shall be brought
promptly before a judge or other officer authorised by law to exercise the
power of justice and shall be entitled to trial within a reasonable time or to
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