TNAG-2156-FCO40-3076-International-Covenant-on-Civil-and-Political-Rights-(ICCPR)-1990 — Page 51

dispense with a translation and the judge is satisfied that the defendant substantially understands the case against him. Where a witness testifies in a language other than English, his evidence must be translated by a sworn interpreter.

Power of Court of Appeal to order retrial

222. Section 43 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 gives the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) a wider power to order a retrial, which is similar to that already possessed by the equivalent courts in Scotland and Northern Ireland. It enables the Court of Appeal, when allowing an appeal against conviction, to order a retrial in any case where it appears to the Court that the interests of justice so require. Previously, the Court of Appeal could order a retrial only if new evidence had come to light.

223. The reason for the change is to avoid cases where a person convicted at the Crown Court has later been acquitted on appeal simply because of some technical defect in the original trial, such as a mistake in procedure or a misdirection to the jury. Although the Court of Appeal has the power to dismiss an appeal if it considers that no miscarriage of justice has occurred, the circumstances of some cases could, before the passing of section 43, be sufficiently unclear to lead to the conviction having to be quashed.

"In camera" trials

224. At common law, it is a fundamental principle that justice should be done in open court. A few exceptions follow:

(a) Section 36 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 and,

in Scotland, section 165 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975, provides that no children (other than infants in arms) shall be allowed in court during the trial of a person for an offence unless as witnesses (a child is a person under 14 years of age);

(b) Section 37 of the 1933 Act (section 166 of the 1975 Act) provides that, where a child (i.e. under 14 years of age) or young person

(i.e. aged 14-17) is called as a witness in proceedings for an offence against decency or morality, the court shall be cleared except for members and officers of the court, parties to the case and their counsel and solicitors, and persons otherwise directly concerned with the case; but this provision expressly does not apply to journalists;

(c) Section 47 of the 1933 Act provides that no person shall be present at the proceedings of a juvenile court except members and officers of the court, parties to the case and their solicitors and counsel, witnesses and any other persons directly concerned in the case, bona fide representatives of newspapers or news agencies, and such other person as the court may especially authorize to be present;

(d) Section 8 (4) of the Official Secrets Act 1920 provides that, in proceedings under the Official Secrets Act, the court may, upon the application of the prosecution, order all or any portion of the public to be excluded on the ground that the publication of any evidence to be given would