MASERU - President of the Court of Appeal Dr Kananelo Mosito says during the last legal year, the court reached its highest performance by surpassing 80 matters in one legal year.
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May 13, 2020
STAFF REPORTER
2 min read
Appeal Court reaches highest performance
President of the Appeal Court Dr Kananelo Mosito
This he said when officially opening the first session of the Court of Appeal on Tuesday.
Dr Mosito said administration of justice requires fair trial adding that trials have consequences.
He said in a civil sphere, there may be significant personal or financial consequences arising from judgments of the court.
He showed that in criminal context, there are potentially serious consequences if terms of imprisonment are imposed after conviction.
“A fair trial accordingly becomes essential. This is the fundamental requirement of the administration of justice and is reflected in section 12 of the Constitution of Lesotho which provides for any person who is lawfully arrested to have the right to a fair trial,” he said.
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He noted that in a fair trial, every person convicted of a crime shall have the right to appeal both conviction and sentence adding that the prosecution may also appeal.
He said it is therefore unacceptable to sentence people and thereafter deny them the right to appeal by causing the records of proceedings in the High Court to disappear, or fail to cause such records to be transcribed in order to enable the convicted to have access to the Court of Appeal.
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