The first court appearance of the man who was once one of Africa's most notorious strongmen on charges related to more than a decade of atrocities in Sierra Leone was scheduled to start on Monday at around 3:00 pm (1500 GMT), making him the first ever former president on African soil to answer charges of crimes against humanity.
Nearly three years have passed since an indictment was issued while Taylor attended a peace conference in June 2003 in Ghana on the war in Liberia.
He faces 11 counts including murder, mutilation, sexual abuse and use of child soldiers younger than 15 years.
"The indictment will be read to him, he will have a lawyer present," said court chief prosecutor Desmond Da Silva adding: "I expect he will be asked to plead guilty or not guilty."
"If he pleads guilty, the trial will be relatively short... a matter of weeks, obviously it will be over. If he pleads not guilty, it will take a bit longer, how long I cannot tell. It depends on how long the defence want to take to prepare their case," he said.
But the actual trial is not expected to begin for months at least, as the court has said it wants the hearing moved to The Hague over security concerns. It has also cited lack of adequate space this year at the court in Freetown.
There are fears that the hearing could ignite renewed unrest in the region, where Taylor is believed still to command widespread support.
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who was beaten at the 1997 controversial polls by Taylor, also wants the trial moved away from the fragile region.
But victims of the war want him tried in Freetown.
"The war took place here, so why try him elsewhere," asked Abubakar Gbo, whose hands were sawn off by Taylor-backed rebels in 1999.
"Taylor once said Sierra Leoneans would taste the bitterness of war, and now it is his turn to taste that bitterness," declared Sahr Momodu Tarawally, 39.
Taylor, who stands accused of inflicting some of the worst violence on civilians ever committed in Africa, is to answer 11 counts of crimes against humanity and serious violations of international humanitarian law over his role in fomenting a brutal civil war in Sierra Leone, considered one of the most gruesome in modern history.
Monday's hearing will take place before Justice Richard Lussick at the heavily guarded UN Special Court complex where the former strongman has been held in custody since Wednesday following his arrest in Nigeria.
As with nine other war suspects on trial at the court since July 2002, Taylor, the judge, the prosecution and the defence will be protected from the public gallery by bullet-proof glass in the courtroom.
Taylor, 58, is considered the single most powerful figure behind a series of civil wars in Liberia and neighbouring Sierra Leone between 1989 and 2003, which between them left around 400,000 people dead.
Faced with a rebellion at home, Taylor stepped down from power in August 2003 following mediation by Nigerian leader Olusegun Obasanjo, who gave him temporary asylum until his dramatic attempts to flee last week after Nigeria allowed Liberia to take delivery of him.
"Taylor's arrest and surrender for trial signals an end to the impunity associated with mass crimes," declared Richard Dicker, head of US-based Human Rights Watch International Justice program.
According to the amended indictment, the first count Taylor faces is listed as "acts of terrorism" related to the burning down of civilian property by rebel groups. Murder is listed as count two, while violence to life, health and physical or mental wellbeing of persons is count three.
Rape, sexual slavery and "outrages upon personal dignity" are counts four, five and six respectively.
Other counts are physical violence, conscripting children under the age of 15 years into armed forces, inhumane acts, enslavement and pillaging.