Cap. 9 Art. 534AFRights of access to the materials of the case.

(1) Where a person is arrested and detained at any stage of the criminal proceedings, any documents in the possession of the

Police which are related to the specific case and which are essential to challenge effectively the lawfulness of the arrest or detention, shall be made available to the arrested person or to his lawyer.

(2) The person suspected or accused shall have access, which shall be free of charge, to all material evidence in the possession of the Police, whether for or against the said suspect or the accused, or to his lawyers in order to safeguard the fairness of the proceedings and to prepare his defence.

(3) Without prejudice to sub-article (1), access to the material evidence referred to in sub-article (2) shall be granted in due time to allow the effective exercise of the rights of the defence and at the latest upon submission on the merits of the accusation. Where further material evidence comes into the possession of the Police, access shall be granted to it in due time to allow for it to be considered by the suspect or the accused or by his lawyer.

(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-article (2) and (3) and provided that this does not prejudice the right to a fair trial, after hearing the prosecution, a court or magistrate may refuse access to certain materials if such access may lead to a serious threat to the life or the fundamental rights of another person or if such refusal is strictly necessary to safeguard an important public interest or where it could prejudice an ongoing investigation or national security.