Macao: Strengthening Human Rights Safeguards
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have the right to apply to the court for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus to prevent the arbitrary use of power. Unlawful search of the body of any resident, deprivation or restriction of the freedom of the person will be prohibited. The torture of any resident or inhuman treatment towards the resident will be prohibited".
Article 29 of the Draft Basic Law also provides,
"Macao residents shall not be punished by law, except for those whose acts are prescribed as a crime in accordance with the provisions of the law and shall be punished... When they are charged with criminal offences, Macao residents shall enjoy the right to be tried by the court as early as possible and, before convicted, shall be presumed innocent".
Article 36 of the Draft Basic Law further provides,
"Macao residents shall have the right to resort to law, to have access to the courts, and to get help from lawyers for protection of their lawful rights and interests, and to obtain judicial remedies... Macao residents shall have the right to institute legal proceedings in the courts against the acts of the executive authorities or their personnel".
In addition, Article 41 of the Draft Basic Law provides that "Macao residents shall enjoy the other rights and freedoms safeguarded by the laws of the Macao SAR".
Hence, it appears that the Draft Basic Law contains a significant number of provisions directed toward the protection of the right to a fair trial in all cases, including those cases which might involve political prisoners. However, the ICCPR (Article 14) provides that "everyone shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law". This very fundamental provision would provide minimum standards for the Legislative Council of Macao when the "structure, powers, functions, and operations" of the courts and the Procuratorate are "prescribed by law", as anticipated by Articles 86 and 92 of the Draft Basic Law. The provision of such standards within the Draft Basic Law would strengthen, support, and reinforce the more detailed fair trial provisions found in the Draft Basic Law's section. on residents' fundamental rights and duties. It would also help establish fairness as the overriding principle against which all trial procedures may be measured, particularly when the more specific provisions of the law are silent on a particular aspect of a trial or are in themselves inadequate to ensure the fundamental fairness of a trial.
Amnesty International November 1991
Al Index: ASA 27/01/91
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