The Act’s impact on the Trial process itself is equally disturbing. As with investigators, all judges on the tribunal panel are to be appointed by the government; proceedings may continue in a judge’s absence, and there is no right to challenge judicial appointments. Judges have an unfettered right to question witnesses with no right for defence counsel to re-examine.(…)
In other words, when it comes to trying crimes against humanity, the ICT is caught between two stools. On this analysis, it is surely disqualified from trying the crime at all. Unfortunately, owing to the amended Constitution’s bar on interlocutory appeals, there is no higher court available to tell them so. Instead, the tribunal is left with the indignity of entertaining charges on an indictment where nobody-not the prosecution, nor the defence, nor even the judges themselves – has a clue about what must be proved for a crimes against humanity conviction to stick.