Whereas recent legal developments have led to the repeal of GA 443 “Preventing the Execution of Innocents”, and the repeal of various provisions protecting the rights of criminal defendants writ large, rather than just in terms of capital prosecutions:
And whereas the Assembly seeks to reimpose those protections to protect defendants from overzealous prosecutors seeking unfair and unjust outcomes to pad their case records or the influence of member nations seeking certain favourable outcomes by undue process of law:
And whereas three classes of protections are of utmost importance to safeguard defendants from corruption of their advocates, prevent defendants from being surprised with evidence introduced at the last minute, and safeguard persons under the custody of member nations or agents thereof from being rendered to areas where they are not protected by World Assembly legislation:
The World Assembly enacts as follows:
- Negative inference. The invocation of any right or privilege by the defendant may not be used as evidence of wrongdoing or as the basis of a negative inference.
- Undue influence. Member nations shall not attempt to pervert justice by unduly influencing the defendant or defence counsel. Nor shall member nations require or coerce the defendant or defence counsel to make decisions which may damage their defence or, in the case of counsel, client welfare.
- Discovery. Prosecutors before member nation courts shall provide the defence with all evidence collected in the process of investigation. Defendants must also provide to prosecutors such evidence they also have collected.
- Evidence may be excluded if there is a preponderance of evidence that providing it would lead to witness tampering or intimidation, expose information vital to national security, or substantially threaten the safety of witnesses or other third parties.
- Counsel for the defence shall be provided sufficient time to review and examine evidence provided under the above clause. It shall be grounds for reversible error on appeal if the defence can show insufficient time was provided such that a competent advocate could not have provided effective counsel.
- In this section, the word “evidence” does not include strategies or other products of time spent by attorneys or advocates reviewing that case.
- Rendition. No individual in the custody of a member nation, or any agents thereof, may be extradited, rendered, or otherwise moved to any place likely to commence, resume, or carry out judicial proceedings which would contravene World Assembly legislation against that individual.