Evolution of the Principle of Lawfulness of the Court in International Human Rights Law: from Competence to Establish to Fair Trial

Under article 14(1) of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, any person has the right to be heard in a court that “has been established by law”. Subsequently, this right has been extended to criminal courts for charges against persons, and thus it can be said that anyone has the right to be charged in a court "established by law" and be tried with observance of other requirements of fair trial. This paper describes the developments of this principle under the heading of "the lawfulness of the court" by means of a descriptive-analytical approach. It has been concluded that in addition to international human rights institutions developing its scope, international practice rather than focusing on the competence of the court's constituent body is more focused on ensuring fair trial. Furthermore, within the framework of international humanitarian law, non-governmental actors may also establish trials with these guarantees in place.