Section 13: Protection to secure protection of law.

(1) Whenever any person is charged with a criminal offence he shall, unless the charge is withdrawn, be affordeda fair hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial court established by law. (2) Any court or other authority prescribed by law for the determination of the existence or extent of civil rights or obligations shall be independent and impartial; and where proceedings for such a determination are instituted by any person before such court or other authority, the case shall be given fair hearing within a reasonable time. (3) All proceedings of every court and proceedings relating to the determination of the existence or the extent of civil rights or obligations before any court or other authority, including the announcement of the decision of the court or other authority, shall be held in public: Provided that the court or other authority may, to such an extent as it may consider necessary or expedient in circumstances where publicity would prejudice the interest of justice or interlocutory civil proceedings or to such extent as it may be empowered or required by law so to do in the interests of defence, public safety, public order, public morality, the welfare of persons under the age of twenty-one years, or the protection of the private lives of persons concerned in the proceedings, exclude from its proceedings, persons other than the parties thereto and their legal representatives. (4) Every person who is charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed to be innocent until he is proved, or has pleaded guilty; Provided that nothing contained in or done under the authority of any law shall be held to be inconsistent with or in contravention of this subsection, to the extent that the law in question imposes on any person charged as aforesaid the burden of providing particular facts. (5) Every person who is charged with a criminal offence— a) shall be informed as soon as reasonably practicable, in the language which he understands and in detail, of the nature of the offence charged; b) shall be given adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence; c) shall be permitted to defend himself in person or by a legal practitioner of his own choice; d) shall be afforded facilities to examine in person or by his legal practitioner the witnesses called by the prosecution before any court and, to obtain the attendance and carry out the examination of witnesses to testify on his behalf before the court on the same conditions as those applying to witnesses called by the prosecution; and e) shall be permitted to have without payment the assistance of an interpreter if he cannot understand the language used at the trial of the charge. Provided that nothing contained in or done under the authority of any law shall be held to be inconsistent with or in contravention of this subsection to the extent that the law in question prohibits legal representation in a Local (6) When a person is tried for any criminal offence, the accused person or any person authorised by him in that behalf shall, if he so requires, and subject to the payment of such reasonable fee as may be prescribed by law, be given within a reasonable time copy for the use of the accused person of any record of the proceedings made by or on behalf of the court. (7) No person shall be held to be guilty of a criminal offence on account of any act or omission which did nor at the time it took place, constitute such an offence, and no penalty shall be imposed for any criminal offence which is severer in degree or description than the maximum penalty which might have been imposed for the offence at the time when it was committed. (8) No person who shows that he has been tried by any competent court for a criminal offence and either convicted or acquitted shall again be tried for that offence or for any other offence of which he could have been convicted at the trial for that offence save upon the order of s superior court made in the course of appeal proceedings relating to the conviction or acquittal; and no person shall be tried for a criminal offence if he shows that he has been pardoned for that offence. Provided that nothing in any law shall be held to be inconsistent with or in contravention of this subsection by reason only that it authorises any court to try a member of a defence force for a criminal offence notwithstanding any trial and conviction or acquittal of that member under service law; but any court so trying such a member and convicting him shall in sentencing him to any punishment take into account any punishment awarded him under service law. (9) Nothing contained in or done under the authority of any law shall be held to be inconsistent with or in contravention of any provisions of this Section other than subsection (7) to the extent that the law in question authorises the taking during a period of public emergency of measures that are reasonably justifiable for the purpose of dealing with the situation that exists before or during that period of public emergency. (10) In paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (5) of this Section “legal practitioner” means an advocate entitled to practise as such in Sierra Leone or except in relation to proceedings before a court in which a solicitor has no right of audience, a solicitor who is so entitled.