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This is a foundational human rights instrument. Although not binding, it was the first authoritative statement of rights that are now set out in multiple human rights treaties and constitutions.
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Under Costa Rica’s Criminal Code, a judge must review bail decisions every 3 months an accused is in custody. Similar rules exist in El Salvador, Paraguay, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.
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This law sets the following framework of time limits: 56 days for “summary trials” (these are for less serious offences); and 182 days for “indictable offences” sent to the Crown Court (these are more serious offences). When the relevant custody time limit expires, the accused must be released on bail.
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A man’s trial was delayed so much that he had already served more time than the maximum sentence related to the alleged crime. The Victorian Supreme Court found imposing such a sentence would breach his right to liberty.
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An individual had been charged with sixteen or more burglaries and was not released on bail because it was feared that he would re-offend if released. He ended up being held in pre-trial detention for 2 years. The European Court ruled that he had been denied a “trial within a reasonable time” in violation of article […]
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The Gambian Supreme Court ruled that to determine what is “reasonable time”, the Court should be guided by the following factors: The length of the delay; The reasons given by the prosecution to justify the delay; The consequences for the delay; and The responsibility of the accused for asserting his or her rights.
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Fillastre was charged in 1987 for offences punishable by imprisonment of one to five years. His proceedings were delayed, partly due to the judge’s desire to gather further evidence, and he was expected to be tried in 1991. First, the UNHRC held that “what constitutes ‘reasonable time’ is a matter of assessment for each particular […]
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(5) If any person arrested or detained is not tried within a reasonable time, then without prejudice to any further proceedings which may be brought against him or her, he or she shall be released either unconditionally or upon reasonable conditions, including, in particular, such conditions as are reasonably necessary to ensure that he or she appears at […]
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A Moldovan businessman was arrested because the police had “reasonable suspicion” he committed fraud. He was denied bail and held in custody for 10 months, before the investigation was ended. This was justified in Moldovan law, which allows people to be held in detention as long as there is a reasonable suspicion they committed a […]
Resource Bank
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