Critical Review of "Fair Trial" in International Documents

The concept of fairness in modern criminal law has influenced by the defendant-oriented philosophy. The major part of the rules on the substantive criminal law andprocedure has been arranged to guarantee the rights of the defendant. This approach creates a complicated situation for the victim: He shouldtolerate the cruel as well as the criminal system considering him insignificant. The Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights, and in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966),embodies such an idea. In so-called postmodern criminal law, this situation is undesirable, and the restorative justice approach, that guarantees the victim’s rights, tries to establish a balance between the plaintiff and defendant in the criminal justice process. In Islamic theology, correspondence of the hearing with God’s commands is the criteria of fairness while in Europe common’s judgment serves as the criteria of the fairness of the trial.