Fair Trial and Judicial Independence

This comprehensive publication analyzes numerous aspects of the relationship between judicature and the fair trial principle in a comparative perspective. In addition, it examines the manifestation of some of the most significant elements inherent to the fair trial concept in different legal systems. Along with expansion of judicial power during the past century and with the strengthening of judicial independence, the fair trial requirement has appeared more often, especially in different international agreements and national constitutions, as the summarizing principle of what were formerly constitutional principles pertaining to judicature. Despite its generality and supranational application, the methods of interpreting this clause vary significantly among particular legal systems. This book assumes that the substantive content of this term conveys relevance to the organizational independence of judicial power, the selection of judges, and the mutual relationship between the branches of power. The comparative studies included in this collection offer readers a widespread understanding of the aforementioned correlations and will ultimately contribute to their mastery of the concept of fair trial.

Foreword; Attila Badó.- Biographies.- About the Authors.- Part I: Fair Trial and Judicial Independence in a Comparative Perspective.- Chapter 1: A Comparative Analysis of Judicial Power, Organizational Issues in Judicature, and the Administration of Courts; Zoltán Fleck.- Chapter 2: Fair Selection of Judges in a Modern Democracy; Attila Badó.- Chapter 3: As luck would have it .... Fairness in the Distribution of Cases and Judicial Independence;  Attila Badó, Kata Szarvas.- Part II: A Comparative Approach to Analyzing the Right to a Fair Trial in Light of Modern Political Challenges.- Chapter 4: An Overview of Fair Trial Standards and National Security from a Comparative Perspective;  Samantha Cheesman.- Chapter 5: In All Fairness A Comparative Analysis of the Past, Present and Future of Fair Trial Systems Outside of Europe; Márton Sulyok.- Part III: A Comparative Analysis of Some Basic Fair Trial Elements.- Chapter 6: To Delay Justice is Injustice - A Comparative Analysis of (Un)reasonable Delay; János Bóka.- Chapter 7: A Comparative Approach to the Evaluation of Evidence from a Fair Trial Perspective;  Mátyás Bencze.- Chapter 8: A Comparative Overview of Publicity in the Administration of Justice; Szonja Navratil.- Chapter 9: Not Twice for the Same - Double Jeopardy Protections Against Multiple Punishments: A Comparative Analysis of the Origins, Historical Development, and Modern Application of the ne bis in idem Principle;Péter Mezei.- Chapter 10: The Path to the Waterhole: The Right to Defense as a Fundamental Element of the Fair Trial Principle; Tamás Sulyok, Márton Sulyok.