Factsheet: Pre-Trial Detention
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Detention Monitoring Tool Factsheet Pre-trial detention Addressing risk factors to prevent torture and ill-treatment ‘Long periods of pre-trial custody contribute to overcrowding in prisons, exacerbating the existing problems as regards conditions and relations between the detainees and staff; they also add to the burden on the courts. From the standpoint of preventing ill-treatment, this raises serious concerns for a system already showing signs of stress.’ (UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture)1 1. Definition and context 2. What are the main standards? Remand prisoners are detained during criminal Because of its severe and often irreversible negative investigations and pending trial. Pre-trial detention is effects, international law requires that pre-trial not a sanction, but a measure to safeguard a criminal detention should be the exception rather than the procedure. rule. At any one time, an estimated 3.2 million people are Pre-trial detention is only legitimate where there is a behind bars awaiting trial, accounting for 30 per cent reasonable suspicion of the person having committed of the total prison population worldwide. They are the offence, and where detention is necessary and legally presumed innocent until proven guilty but may proportionate to prevent them from absconding, be held in conditions that are worse than those for committing another offence, or interfering with the convicted prisoners and sometimes for years on end. course of justice during pending procedures. This means that pre-trial detention is not legitimate where Pre-trial detention undermines the chance of a fair these objectives can be achieved through other, less trial and the presumption of innocence. It increases intrusive measures. Such measures include bail, the risk of a confession or statement being coerced seizure of travel documents, the condition to appear by torture or ill-treatment and ‘lessens a suspect’s before the court as and when required and/or not to possibilities of defence, particularly when the person interfere with witnesses, periodic reporting to police is poor and cannot rely on a defence counsel or or other authorities, electronic monitoring, or curfews. support to obtain evidence in his favour’.2 Both the UN Standard Minimum Rules for Non- Alongside the general risk of violence from guards custodial Measures (the ‘Tokyo Rules’) and the UN and fellow prisoners, high rates of pre-trial detention Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and also contribute to widespread prison overcrowding, Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the exacerbating poor prison conditions and heightening ‘Bangkok Rules’) encourage criminal justice systems the risk of torture and ill-treatment. to provide a wide range of non-custodial measures to avoid the unnecessary use of imprisonment. A range of other standards linked to arrest and pre-trial detention are safeguards in their own right, while at the same time protecting arrestees and remand prisoners from torture and other ill-treatment. These include: protection against arbitrary arrest; prompt information about the reasons for arrest and detention; prompt 1 UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT), Report on Benin, 11 March 2011, CAT/OP/BEN/1, para.158. 2 UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT), Report on Paraguay, 7 June 2010, CAT/OP/PRY/1, para.64. www.penalreform.org registration of the arrest including precise information 3. Types and situations of risk about the reasons; identity of the law enforcement officials and the place of detention; prompt access to a 3.1. Insufficient safeguards during arrest judge; habeas corpus; trial without delay; presumption of innocence; separation of pre-trial detainees from The moment of arrest is a particularly dangerous convicted prisoners; regular review of the legality of situation in the context of torture and ill-treatment pre-trial detention; and access to the outside world, as law enforcement officials may coerce a statement including access to independent doctors and family or confession in order to justify the arrest, before visits. the arrestee has had a chance to seek legal representation. Main references Most occurrences of torture take place during police DD International Covenant on Civil and Political detention prior to a detainee’s appearance before a Rights (1966), Articles 9 and 14 judge. In many jurisdictions, this risk is exacerbated by the long periods for which an arrestee can be DD Body of Principles for the Protection of All held at a police station without being brought before Persons under Any Form of Detention or a judge, and by provisions preventing access to a Imprisonment (1988) lawyer during the first day(s) after arrest. DD UN Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems (2012) Kazakhstan: Moment of arrest DD UN Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial In March 2012, the Constitutional Council of Measures (The Tokyo Rules) (1990) Kazakhstan had to rule on the interpretation DD UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Article 16 (2) of the Constitution, according of Prisoners (1957) – Section C – Prisoners to which a person may only be detained for a under arrest or awaiting trial period of 72 hours before being brought before a judge. There had been differing opinions on DD UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers what triggers the start of this time period, with (1990) the prevailing interpretation being that it should DD UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners start from the arrival of the suspect in a detention and Non-custodial Measures for Women centre or the registration of the detainee. Offenders (The Bangkok Rules) (2010), Rules 57 However, such an interpretation would mean that et sqq authorities could determine – and manipulate – DD UN International Convention for the Protection access to safeguards, by delaying the transfer of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (for or registration of the arrestee and thereby registration/ documentation) (2007) undermining their protection. In part based on a submission by Penal Reform International Central DD European Convention on Human Rights, Articles Asia, the Constitutional Council established4 that 5 and 6 ‘arrest’ refers to the moment when a person is DD American Convention on Human Rights, Articles apprehended.5 7 and 8 DD Principles and Best Practices on the Protection Lack of information about the nature and cause of of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the Americas the charges, in a language the arrestee understands, further reduces their ability to withstand pressure and DD African Charter of Human People’s Rights coercion, and increases the risk of an infringement of (Banjul Charter), Articles 6 and 7 the right to silence. DD African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Guidelines for Pre-Trial Detention (in development)3 3 See ‘Experts Meeting on the Development of Guidelines for Pre-Trial Detention’, 14 March 2013. Available at: www.achpr.org/news/2013/03/d78/ <accessed 30 September 2013> 4 Decision of the Constitutional Council of Kazakhstan, 13 April 2012 # 2. Full text (in Russian) available at: www.constcouncil.kz/rus/resheniya/?cid=11&rid=783 <Accessed 30 September 2013> 5 See Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, Use of terms, lit. (a), adopted by General Assembly resolution 43/173 of 9 December 1988. 2 Penal Reform International investigations – this temptation increases further, What could monitoring bodies check? when the success of individual policemen and • How is the court notified after the arrest? -women is measured exclusively on the basis of the number of cases they “resolve”. Contrary • How is the moment of arrest defined in law what many believe, in my assessment, it is not so and interpreted in practice? much “political” torture that is problematic – it is • What is the time limit prescribed by law for the everyday extortions of confessions from so- the suspect to be brought before a judge? called “ordinary” criminal suspects.’ (UN Special What activates this time limit? Rapporteur on Torture)6 • Is practice in conformity with the law? Reviewing the criteria of appraisals, as well as • When and how are arrestees informed about improving investigation techniques, has the potential the nature and cause of the charges against to reduce the incidence of abuse, by reducing one them, and of their right to silence? of the underlying motives which can prompt law enforcement officials to resort to torture and ill- • How long can arrestees be held at a police treatment in the first place. station? • Can interrogations take place without the What could monitoring bodies check? presence of a legal counsel? • Is audio- or video recording in place in order • What forensic methods are available to law to monitor and prevent ill-treatment during enforcement other than interrogation? interrogations? • Are law enforcement officials sufficiently • Does a medical examination take place trained in investigation techniques? regularly, in particular upon arrival at a • What percentage of convictions is based on pre-detention facility following arrest and confessions? interrogation at a police station or facility? • What is the system of and criteria for • Does the law prescribe the quashing of appraisal for law enforcement? Does it only evidence obtained under torture or ill- consider the number of crimes handed to treatment? How are such allegations dealt prosecution? with by courts in practice? 3.3. Excessive use and length of pre-trial 3.2. Systemic factors in law enforcement detention Lack of forensic methodology or training in crime Beside other human rights concerns, the excessive investigation techniques both increase the risk of and prolonged use of pre-trial detention in many law enforcement officials resorting to torture and countries contributes to overcrowding, which in ill-treatment in order to close an investigation with a turn frequently results in conditions of detention confession. amounting to torture or ill-treatment.