The Constitution of Ghana says that “every person in Ghana, whatever his race, place of origin, political opinion, colour, religion, creed or gender shall be entitled to the fundamental human rights and freedoms of the individual … but subject to respect for the rights and freedoms of others and for the public interest“.
Mr. Mukong was a journalist, writer and opponent of the one-party system in Cameroon. He was arrested following an interview with the BBC in which he criticised the President of Cameroon and its Government. He was detained without charge for a prolonged period, despite repeated requests for information on the reason for his detention. The […]
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 […]
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.
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 […]
