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prosecution;
(h) be permitted to have, without payment by him, the assistance of an interpreter where he cannot
understand the language used at the trial; and
(i) in the case of the offence of high treason or treason, be tried by the High Court duly constituted
by three Justices of that Court and the decision of the Justices shall be unanimous.
(3)
The trial of a person charged with a criminal offence shall take place in his presence unless—
(a) he refuses to appear before the court for the trial to be conducted in his presence after he has
been duly notified of the trial; or
(b) he conducts himself in such a manner as to render the continuation of the proceedings in his
presence impracticable and the court orders him to be removed for the trial to proceed in his
absence.
(4)
Whenever a person is tried for a criminal offence the accused person or a person authorised by him
shall, if he so requires, be given, within a reasonable time not exceeding six months after judgment, a
copy of any record of the proceedings made by or on behalf of the court for the use of the accused
person.
(5)
A person shall not be charged with or held to be guilty of a criminal offence which is founded on an act
or omission that did not at the time it took place constitute an offence.
(6)
No penalty shall be imposed for a criminal offence that is severer in degree or description than the
maximum penalty that could have been imposed for that offence at the time when it was committed.
(7)
No person who shows that he has been tried by a competent court for a criminal offence and either
convicted or acquitted, shall again be tried for that offence or for any other criminal offence of which
he could have been convicted at the trial for the offence, except on the order of a superior court in the
course of appeal or review proceedings relating to the conviction or acquittal.
(8)
Notwithstanding clause (7) of this article, an acquittal of a person on a trial for high treason or treason
shall not be a bar to the institution of proceedings for any other offence against that person.
(9)
Paragraphs (a) and (b) of clause (2) of this article shall not apply in the case of a trial by a court-martial
or other military tribunal.
(10)
No person who is tried for a criminal offence shall he compelled to give evidence at the trial.
(11)
No person shall be convicted of a criminal offence unless the offence is defined and the penalty for it
is prescribed in a written law.
(12)
Clause (11) of this article shall not prevent a Superior Court from punishing a person for' contempt of
itself notwithstanding that the act or omission constituting the contempt is not defined in a written
law and the penalty is not so prescribed.
Ghana 1992 (rev. 1996)
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