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II. Judicial Standards and Principles |
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2.4 General Principles of the Court |
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Article 28-Rights of
the accused |
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The following are considered the fundamental rights of the accused: |
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| 28.1 |
Lawful arrest |
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An accused is entitled to a lawful arrest. While an unlawful arrest may never exonerate and/or cause for an indictment to itself be unlawful, it may result in any evidence gathered under such an unlawful arrest being inadmissible as evidence. |
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| 28.2 |
Innocence until proven guilty |
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Everyone charged with a criminal offence will be presumed innocent until proved guilty by a lawfully valid verdict. |
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| 28.3 |
Being charged and stand trial for the same offence twice |
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No one shall be liable to be tried or punished again for an offence for which they have already been tried and a final lawfully valid verdict has already been brought, unless medical forensic evidence of a verifiable nature is presented as grounds for a new trial. |
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| 28.4 |
Maximum period of detention under accusation |
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The maximum period a man, woman or person may be held without charge on accusation of one or more criminal offences is forty-eight (48) hours at which time either a charge is made against the man, woman or person or else they must be released from custody. The breach of this rule itself shall be considered a criminal offence under Article 56 (False Imprisonment) of the Criminal Code.
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| 28.5 |
Maximum period of detention under charge |
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The maximum period a man, woman or person may be held on charge without formal indictment from time of arrest is dependent upon the seriousness of the level of the charge. |
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For level 4 and below offences, the maximum period of custody without indictment is seventy-two hours (72) at which time they must be either formally indicted, or released. |
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For level 5 and above offences, the maximum period of custody without indictment is ninety-six hours (96) at which time they must be either formally indicted, or released. |
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The breach of this rule itself shall be considered a criminal offence under Article 56 (False Imprisonment) of the Criminal Code. |
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| 28.6 |
Maximum period of detention under indictment before bail hearing |
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The maximum period a man, woman or person may be held in custody from the day of indictment to the day being brought before a magistrate to hear any bail application is dependent upon the seriousness of the level of the charge. |
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For level 4 and below offences, the maximum period of custody under indictment is three (3) days at which time they must be either formally refused bail, or bail shall be automatically granted and they shall be released.
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For level 5 and above offences, the maximum period of custody under indictment is ten (10) days at which time they must be either formally refused bail, or bail shall be automatically granted and they shall be released. |
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| 28.7 |
General rights of a man or woman upon arrest |
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The following are the general rights of man or woman accused upon arrest: |
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Non-torture |
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The accused has the right of being kept safe from physical torture, by means of inflicting pain, deprivation of essential food, water and/or shelter or direct threats against themselves or their family/friends. |
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Attendance to any major life threatening wounds/illness |
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The accused has the right to medical attention to halt any major life threatening wounds/illness. |
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Adequate food, water and shelter |
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The accused has the right to adequate food, water and shelter during their custody including access to toilet facilities and washing facilities. |
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Safety from harm |
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The accused has the right to be kept safe from harm or the threat of harm by other inmates and/or accused. |
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| 28.8 |
General rights of interview upon arrest |
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The following are the general rights of a man or woman accused upon arrest: |
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Silence on 2nd and subsequent interviews |
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The accused has the right to silence upon the 2nd interview and any subsequent interview. However, the accused does not have the right to silence for the 1st interview ("interview of facts") and if being so silent in a level 4 or above suit may automatically be liable to the charge of obstruction of justice. |
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Right to two phone calls |
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The accused has the right to two national phone calls, which individually do not exceed five minutes. |
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Right to an interpreter |
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The accused has the right to a competent interpreter service should they be unfamiliar with comprehension of the Official Language.The court provides the man or woman a free assistance of an interpreter. |
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Right to lawful counsel |
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The accused has the right to have lawful counsel present at the 2nd and any subsequent interviews and/or formal proceedings of indictment and for the lawful counsel to speak on their behalf, excluding matters before the court where the accused must answer in their own voice and/or acknowledgment. |
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| 28.9 |
General rights of lawful response upon arrest |
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The following are the general rights of lawful response of an accused upon arrest: |
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Right of copy of indictment against them |
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The accused has the right to a copy of the indictment against them, in a language which they understand, of the specific crime(s) and Criminal Code offences for which they are charged; |
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Right of copy of all interview statements, and evidence to be presented to the court with the indictment |
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The accused has the right to a copy of all the interview statements and evidence to be presented to the court with the indictment at their arraignment. |
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Right of preparation before arraignment |
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The accused has the right to have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of their response and to communicate with a counsel of his own choosing. The minimum time shall not be less than four (4) days and not be greater than twenty (20) days, unless lawful extension is granted under exceptional circumstances. |
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Right of trial |
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The accused has the right to be tried in the presence of their accusers and to respond for themselves as a man or woman or by lawful counsel of their own choosing and to have lawful counsel assigned to them, in any suit where the interests of justice so requires, and without payment by them in any such suit if they do not have sufficient means to pay for it. |
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