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15 | Right to personal liberty

National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) Draft Constitution (2001)
  1. No one may be deprived of their personal liberty except according to law.
  2. No one may be imprisoned merely on the ground of inability to fulfil a contractual obligation.
  3. Anyone who is arrested or detained—
    1. must be informed promptly of the reason for the arrest or detention;
    2. must be permitted, without delay—
      1. to contact their next of kin or close relative; and
      2. at their own expense, to choose, contact and consult with a legal practitioner;
    3. must be treated with humanity and with respect for their inherent human dignity.
    4. must be permitted to challenge the lawfulness of the arrest or detention in person before a court, and must be released promptly if the detention is unlawful.
  4. Anyone may challenge the lawfulness of another person’s arrest or detention under subsection (3)(d) of this section if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the arrested or detained person is unable to do so.
  5. Anyone who is arrested or detained—
    1. for the purpose of bringing him or her before a court; or
    2. for allegedly committing or being about to commit an offence; and who is not released must be brought before a court as soon as reasonably possible and in any event not later than forty-eight hours after the arrest was effected or the detention began, as the case may be.
  6. Anyone who is detained pending trial for an offence and is not tried within a reasonable time must be released from detention, either unconditionally or on reasonable conditions to ensure that after being released the person—
    1. attends the trial;
    2. does not interfere with the evidence to be given at the trial; and
    3. does not commit any other offence before the trial begins.
  7.  Anyone who has been illegally arrested or detained is entitled to compensation from the person responsible for the arrest or detention, but a law may protect the following persons from liability under this section—
    1. a judicial officer acting in a judicial capacity reasonably and in good faith;
    2. any other public officer acting reasonably and in good faith and without culpable ignorance or negligence.
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