Argentina
Practice Relating to Rule 100. Fair Trial Guarantees
Section D. Information on the nature and cause of the accusation
Argentina’s Law of War Manual (1969) provides, in a paragraph entitled “Right of defence”: “before giving a disciplinary penalty, the accused prisoner must be informed, with precision, of the acts he is charged with”.
The manual further provides:
The accused prisoner of war will receive, as quickly as possible before the beginning of the trial, communication in an understandable language, of the bill of indictment as well as the acts which generally are notified to the accused in accordance with the laws in force in the army of the [detaining power].
The manual also provides that the occupying power shall inform “any indicted person … without delay, of the motives of accusation that have been formulated against him, in a language he will understand”.
Argentina’s Law of War Manual (1989) provides that, at least certain guarantees shall be respected, such as: “the information of the prisoner without delay of the details of the offence of which he is charged”.
The manual further states that any accused person shall be informed without delay of the particulars of the offences of which he is accused.
The same provision applies in non-international armed conflicts.