The present research examines the fairness of the liability of ‘total’ in absentia trials within three specific circumstances. First: the accused is given sufficient notice of the trial and their right to decline to be present. Second: the accused must have a defence counsel advocating them in the trial. Third: the accused’s absolute right to re-trial should be protected once the judgment has been passed in absentia. The main research question to discern the hypothesis is that the accused can be tried in absentia under international criminal tribunals. Therefore, the focus is on answering which procedural scenarios could be counted as “an absence of the defendant.” The present research questions will be analyzed by examining the practice of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), its theoretical safeguards enshrined in the Statute, and the legal standards from human rights bodies’ jurisprudence.

I. Introduction
II. Creation of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon
    A. The Rights of the Accused in Absentia Trial
    B. The Right to a Fair Hearing in Public
    C. Allegations and the Accused’s Rights should be Informed.
    D. Innocent until Proven Guilty
    E. The Accused Rights to Defence
III. In Absentia Trials
    A. The Challenges of In Absentia Trials
    B. The Guarantees of a Criminal Trial in Absentia before theInternational Criminal Court
    C. The Trials in Absentia under the Standards of InternationalHuman Rights Law
    D. The Case before the Special Tribunal for Lebanon
    E. Charges Brought Against the Accused
IV. The Primary Justifications for Absentia Trials andthe Applications before the ICC
    A. The Rights of the Accused Trials in Absentia and their Safeguards
    B. Three Practices relating to the Proceedings in Absentia
V. New Methods to Convict
    A. Fair Procedure
    B. Global Justice
    C. The Conditions of Conducting a Special Tribunal
    D. Future Considerations for Trials in Absentia beforethe International Criminal Court
VI. A Case Study: The Trials in Absentia in the SpecialTribunal of Lebanon
    A. The Significance of the Lebanon Case
    B. The Role of the Judges
    C. The STL’s Decision
    D. Critical Questions
VII. Conclusion and Recommendations

• Ali Aldosari(Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law at Kuwait University)