The Rights of the Defense in Ivorian Criminal Proceedings

The principles of adversarial proceedings and equality of arms are "elements of the broader concept of a fair trial", and "respect for the rights of the defense implies fair and equitable proceedings [...]. The realization of the rights of the defense can only be achieved by such a procedure, which appears to be the procedure or process that makes it possible to realize the ideal of justice represented by respect for the rights of the defense. Not only do they make it possible to assess the rights of the defense horizontally, i.e. quantitatively throughout the criminal trial, but they also make it possible to apprehend them vertically, i.e. qualitatively by measuring their strength. By examining the relationship between rights and principles within our triptych, this study argues, on the one hand, that the exercise of the principles of adversarial proceedings and equality of arms guarantees the effectiveness of the rights of the defense, or that these rights are also a reality.