A/HRC/13/48 B. Due process of law 35. Another core human rights element recommended to the Government by the Special Rapporteur is the establishment of an independent and impartial judiciary. Without such a judiciary, Myanmar does not have functioning rule of law. The current system of administration of justice is seriously flawed. 36. The Special Rapporteur notes that the Constitution of Myanmar (2008), in chapter 1, paragraph 19, establishes important judicial principles: (a) to administer justice independently according to the law; (b) to dispense justice in open court unless otherwise prohibited by the law; (c) to guarantee in all cases the right of defence and the right of appeal under the law. However, in reality, many trials are conducted behind closed doors within prison compounds, without legal representation, without the presence or knowledge of their family members, without proof of evidence or with defective evidence, and pursuant to arbitrary decisions of the judges. 37. The Special Rapporteur draws the attention of the Myanmar authorities to the existence of a body of internationally accepted standards and principles in the area of human rights in the administration of justice, including the treatment of prisoners, role of lawyers, role of prosecutors, independence of the judiciary and conduct of law enforcement officials, which must guide the authorities to ensure fair trials and due process of law. The Special Rapporteur underlines the necessity of legal reform through review of legislation and procedures to ensure conformity with human rights standards and respect for the basic principles of the presumption of innocence, due process of the law and independence of the judiciary. 38. Defence lawyers face great difficulties ranging from not being informed of the dates and venues of the trials, to not being allowed to meet the detainees in private in advance of the trials. The right to defence through proper legal representation has to be ensured in law as well as in practice. Lawyers must be allowed to defend clients without harassment and without the threat of charges for the contempt of court. However, the Special Rapporteur has continued to receive disturbing information on the conviction of defence lawyers for contempt of court. The Contempt of Court Act (1926) contains such brief and broad formulations that it is open for any arbitrary interpretations. Some 11 lawyers are currently imprisoned. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur would like to flag to the Government the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers. 39. The Special Rapporteur repeats his call for the termination of the detention of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest, which is in contravention to international and domestic law. He regrets the decision of the Supreme Court to reject her appeal against her house arrest on 26 February 2010. He regrets also that the Government did not grant his special request to meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on his third mission. 40. While the Special Rapporteur again commends the Government for the effective moratorium on the use of death penalty, he regrets that lower courts continue to hand down death sentences. During his last mission, the Special Rapporteur raised this issue with the Attorney General and Chief Justice as a step backwards for Myanmar. 41. The Special Rapporteur is also deeply concerned about reports that Aung Ko Htay, a child soldier, now aged 16, has been sentenced to death for involvement in the killing of a soldier during a fight. He was recruited into the army when he was 14 years old. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Myanmar is a State party, prohibits the execution of people for offences committed under the age of 18. According to the country’s Child Law (1993), chapter XVIII, article 71, a child should not be punished by death or imprisonment exceeding 10 years. GE.10-11915 9