Sixteenth session (1982)
General comment No. 8: Article 9 (Right to liberty and security of persons)
1.
Article 9 which deals with the right to liberty and security of persons has often been
somewhat narrowly understood in reports by States parties, and they have therefore given
incomplete information. The Committee points out that paragraph 1 is applicable to all deprivations
of liberty, whether in criminal cases or in other cases such as, for example, mental illness, vagrancy,
drug addiction, educational purposes, immigration control, etc. It is true that some of the provisions
of article 9 (part of paragraph 2 and the whole of paragraph 3) are only applicable to persons against
whom criminal charges are brought. But the rest, and in particular the important guarantee laid
down in paragraph 4, i.e. the right to control by a court of the legality of the detention, applies to all
persons deprived of their liberty by arrest or detention. Furthermore, States parties have in
accordance with article 2 (3) also to ensure that an effective remedy is provided in other cases in
which an individual claims to be deprived of his liberty in violation of the Covenant.
2.
Paragraph 3 of article 9 requires that in criminal cases any person arrested or detained has
to be brought “promptly” before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power.
More precise time limits are fixed by law in most States parties and, in the view of the Committee,
delays must not exceed a few days. Many States have given insufficient information about the actual
practices in this respect.
3.
Another matter is the total length of detention pending trial. In certain categories of criminal
cases in some countries this matter has caused some concern within the Committee, and members
have questioned whether their practices have been in conformity with the entitlement “to trial
within a reasonable time or to release” under paragraph 3. Pre-trial detention should be an
exception and as short as possible. The Committee would welcome information concerning
mechanisms existing and measures taken with a view to reducing the duration of such detention.
4.
Also if so-called preventive detention is used, for reasons of public security, it must be
controlled by these same provisions, i.e. it must not be arbitrary, and must be based on grounds and
procedures established by law (para. 1), information of the reasons must be given (para. 2) and court
control of the detention must be available (para. 4) as well as compensation in the case of a breach
(para. 5). And if, in addition, criminal charges are brought in such cases, the full protection of article
9 (2) and (3), as well as article 14, must also be granted.
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