minate the criminal proceedings, quash the judgment and remit the case for a fresh trial, or amend the judgment (see "Relevant domestic law and practice" above, paragraphs 20 and 23 - 24).
40. In their grounds of appeal the applicant and his counsel contested the applicant's conviction on factual and legal grounds. They submitted, in particular, that the applicant's guilt in the first and the third murders had not been supported by evidence submitted at trial and that the trial court attached undue weight to the applicant's co-accused's statements. They asked the appeal court to quash the conviction for those two murders and remit the case for a fresh trial. The Prosecutor asked to uphold the applicant's conviction for the three murders. Consequentely, the issues to be determined by the appeal court in deciding the applicant's liability were both factual and legal. The appeal court was called on to make a full assessment of the applicant's guilt or innocence regarding the charges of the first and third murders.
41. The Court further observes that the proceedings in question were of utmost importance for the applicant, who had been sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment at first instance and who was not represented at the appeal hearing of 29 June 2006. It also does not lose sight of the fact that the prosecutor was present at the appeal hearing and made submissions.
42. Having regard to the criminal proceedings against the applicant in their entirety and to the above elements, the Court considers that the appeal court could not properly determine the issues before it without a direct assessment of the evidence given by the applicant in person. Neither could it ensure equality of arms between the parties without giving the applicant the opportunity to reply to the observations made by the prosecutor at the hearing. It follows that in the circumstances of the present case, it was essential to the fairness of the proceedings that the applicant be present at the appeal hearing.
43. The Government have acknowledged and the Court agrees that the appeal proceedings of 15 August 2002 fell short of the guarantees of fair trial because neither the applicant nor his legal counsel were duly notified of the appeal hearing. However, the Government contended that the appeal decision of 15 August 2002 had been quashed by way of supervisory review and that in new appeal proceedings the applicant had been given an opportunity to apply for participation in the hearing, which he did not use.
44. In order to assess whether the supervisory review indeed remedied the defects of the original proceedings, as alleged by the Government, the Court has to verify whether the guarantees of fair trial were afforded in the ensuing appeal proceedings and whether the applicant lost the opportunity to be present at the hearing by failing to submit a special request.
45. In that respect the Court reiterates that while Article 6 § 3 (c) confers on everyone charged with a criminal offence the right to "defend himself in person or through legal assistance ..." it does not specify the manner in which this right should be exercised. It thus leaves to the Contracting States the choice of the means of ensuring that it is secured in their legal systems, the Court's task being only to ascertain whether the method they have chosen is consistent with the requirement of a fair trial (see Quaranta v. Switzerland, 24 May 1991, § 30, Series A No. 205). The Court considers that the requirement to lodge a prior request for participation in the appeal hearing would not in itself contradict the requirements of Article 6, if the procedure is clearly set out in the domestic law.
46. The Court further reiterates that neither the letter nor the spirit of Article 6 of the Convention prevents a person from waiving of his own free will, either expressly or tacitly, entitleme
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