Constitution of The BahamasIn briefNo one may be deprived of personal liberty except in listed cases allowed by law, and people who are arrested or detained have set rights and safeguards.
No person shall be deprived of his personal liberty save as may be authorized by law in any of the following cases-
No one may be deprived of personal liberty (their physical freedom) except as the law allows in one of the following cases:
in execution of the sentence or order of a court, whether established for The Bahamas or some other country, in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been convicted or in consequence of his unfitness to plead to a criminal charge or in execution of the order of a court on the grounds of his contempt of that court or of another court or tribunal;
to carry out the sentence or order of a court, whether a court of The Bahamas or of another country, for a criminal offence of which the person has been convicted, or because the person is unfit to plead to a criminal charge, or to carry out a court's order made because the person is in contempt of that court or of another court or tribunal;
in execution of the order of a court made in order to secure the fulfillment of any obligation imposed upon him by law;
to carry out a court order made to make sure the person fulfils an obligation that the law places on them;
for the purpose of bringing him before a court in execution of the order of a court;
to bring the person before a court as ordered by a court;
upon reasonable suspicion of his having committed, or of being about to commit, a criminal offence;
on reasonable suspicion that the person has committed, or is about to commit, a criminal offence;
in the case of a person who has not attained the age of eighteen years, for the purpose of his education or welfare;
in the case of a person under eighteen years of age, for the person's education or welfare;
for the purpose of preventing the spread of an infectious or contagious disease or in the case of a person who is, or is reasonably suspected to be, of unsound mind, addicted to drugs or alcohol, or a vagrant, for the purpose of his case or treatment of the protection of the community;
to prevent the spread of an infectious or contagious disease, or, in the case of a person who is, or is reasonably suspected to be, of unsound mind, addicted to drugs or alcohol, or a vagrant (a person with no settled home or work), for that person's care or treatment or for the protection of the community;
for the purpose of preventing the unlawful entry of that person into The Bahamas or for the purpose of effecting the expulsion, extradition or other lawful removal from the Bahamas of that person or the taking of proceedings relating thereto; and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, a law may, for the purposes of this sub-paragraph, provide that a person who is not a citizen of The Bahamas may be deprived of this liberty to such extent as may be necessary in the execution of a lawful order requiring that person to remain within a specified area within The Bahamas or prohibiting him from being within such an area.
to prevent the person from entering The Bahamas unlawfully, or to carry out the person's expulsion, extradition (handing over to another country to face justice there) or other lawful removal from The Bahamas, or to take proceedings relating to such removal. Without limiting this, a law may, for the purposes of this sub-paragraph, provide that a person who is not a citizen of The Bahamas may be deprived of liberty as far as necessary to carry out a lawful order that requires the person to stay within a specified area of The Bahamas, or that forbids the person from being within such an area.
Any person who is arrested or detained shall be informed as soon as is reasonably practicable, in a language that he understands, of the reason for his arrest or detention and shall be permitted, at his own expense, to retain and instruct without delay a legal representative of his own choice and to hold private communication with him; and in the case of a person who has not attained the age of eighteen years he shall also be afforded a reasonable opportunity for communication with his parent or guardian.
A person who is arrested or detained must be told, as soon as reasonably practicable and in a language they understand, the reason for the arrest or detention. The person must be allowed, at their own expense, to engage and instruct a legal representative of their own choice without delay, and to communicate privately with that representative. A person under eighteen years of age must also be given a reasonable opportunity to communicate with a parent or guardian.
Any person who is arrested or detained in such a case as is mentioned in sub-paragraph (1)(c) or (d) of this Article and who is not released shall be brought without undue delay before a court; and if any person arrested or detained in such a case as is mentioned in the said sub-paragraph (1)(d) is not tried within a reasonable time he shall (without prejudice to any further proceedings that may be brought against him) be released either unconditionally or upon reasonably necessary to ensure that he appears at a later date for trial of for proceedings preliminary to trial.
A person who is arrested or detained in a case mentioned in sub-paragraph (1)(c) or (d) of this Article, and who is not released, must be brought before a court without undue delay. If a person arrested or detained in a case mentioned in sub-paragraph (1)(d) is not tried within a reasonable time, the person must be released (without affecting any further proceedings that may be brought against them), either unconditionally or on reasonable conditions, including in particular conditions that are reasonably necessary to make sure the person appears at a later date for trial or for proceedings before the trial.
Any person who is unlawfully arrested or detained by any other persons hall be entitled to compensation therefor from that other person.
A person who is unlawfully arrested or detained by any other person is entitled to compensation from that other person.
Where a person is detained by virtue of such a law as is referred to in Article 29 of this Constitution, the following provisions shall apply-
Where a person is detained under a law of the kind referred to in Article 29 of this Constitution (a law for a time of war or public emergency), the following rules apply:
he shall, as soon as reasonably practicable and in any case not more than five days after the commencement of his detention, be furnished with a statement in writing, in a language that he understands, of the grounds upon which he is detained;
as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any case not more than five days after the detention begins, the person must be given a written statement, in a language they understand, of the grounds on which they are detained;
not more than fourteen days after the commencement of his detention, a notification shall be published in the Gazette stating that he has been detained and giving particulars of the provisions of law under which his detention is authorized;
not more than fourteen days after the detention begins, a notice must be published in the Gazette stating that the person has been detained and giving details of the provisions of law under which the detention is authorised;
he may from time to time request that his case be reviewed under sub-paragraph (d) of this paragraph but, where he has made such a request, no subsequent request shall be made before the expiration of three months from the making of the previous request;
the person may from time to time ask for their case to be reviewed under sub-paragraph (d) of this paragraph, but once the person has made such a request, no further request can be made until three months have passed since the previous request;
where a request is made under sub-paragraph (c) of this paragraph, the case shall, within one month of the making of the request, be reviewed by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law, presided over by the Chief Justice or another Justice of the Supreme Court appointed by him, and consisting of persons who are Justices of the Supreme Court or who are qualified to be appointed as Justices of the Supreme Court;
when a request is made under sub-paragraph (c) of this paragraph, the case must be reviewed within one month of the request by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law. The tribunal is presided over by the Chief Justice, or by another Justice of the Supreme Court appointed by the Chief Justice, and is made up of people who are Justices of the Supreme Court or who are qualified to be appointed as Justices of the Supreme Court;
he shall be afforded reasonable facilities to consult and instruct, at his own expense, a legal representative of his own choice, and he and any such legal representative shall be permitted to make written or oral representations or both to the tribunal appointed for the review of his case.
the person must be given reasonable facilities to consult and instruct, at their own expense, a legal representative of their own choice, and the person and any such legal representative must be allowed to make written or spoken representations, or both, to the tribunal appointed to review the case.
On any review by a tribunal in pursuance of paragraph (5) of this Article of the case of any detained person, the tribunal may make recommendations concerning the necessity or expediency of continuing his detention to the authority by whom it was ordered, but unless it is otherwise provided by law, that authority shall not be obliged to act in accordance with any such recommendations.
When a tribunal reviews a detained person's case under paragraph (5) of this Article, it may make recommendations to the authority that ordered the detention about whether continuing the detention is necessary or advisable. But unless a law provides otherwise, that authority is not obliged to act on those recommendations.
When any person is detained by virtue of such a law as is referred to in Article 29 of this Constitution the Prime Minister of privacy of home a Minister authorized by him shall, not more than thirty days after and other the commencement of the detention and thereafter no more than property. thirty days after the making of the previous report, make a report to each House stating the number of persons detained as aforesaid and the number of cases in which the authority that ordered the detention has not acted in accordance with the recommendations of a tribunal appointed in pursuance of paragraph (5) of this Article:
When a person is detained under a law of the kind referred to in Article 29 of this Constitution, the Prime Minister, or a Minister authorised by the Prime Minister, must make a report to each House of Parliament not more than thirty days after the detention begins, and after that not more than thirty days after the previous report. The report must state the number of people detained in this way and the number of cases in which the authority that ordered a detention has not acted on the recommendations of a tribunal appointed under paragraph (5) of this Article:
Provided that in reckoning any period of thirty days for the purposes of this paragraph no account shall be taken of any period during which parliament stands prorogued or dissolved.
However, when counting any period of thirty days for the purposes of this paragraph, any time during which Parliament is prorogued (its session is suspended) or dissolved is left out.