Category: Human Rights
Strength: Strong
The General Assembly,
Alarmed by the practice of arbitrary or indefinite detention of individuals,
Considering the injustice of such a concept, and the possibility of perpetual, yet unjustified detention for certain individuals, as well as the possibility of unrelenting retrials against justly acquitted individuals, and the consequent potential for abuse,
Appalled that member-states may use such inequitable circumstances to their advantage,
Determined to end such practices in their entirety,
The World Assembly therefore resolves,
1. Member states shall not detain any individual, without either formally charging or suspecting that individual of a criminal offense, for more than two hours in any seven-day period, four hours in any 30-day period or 24 hours in any 365-day period;
2. Member states shall not detain any individual, solely on the suspicion that the individual has committed a criminal offense, for more than 36 hours without formally charging the individual with the offense. Periods of time in which the authorities responsible for formally charging the individual with a crime are not available to do so may be added to the aforementioned 36 hour time limit, to a maximum of 96 additional hours;
3. Multiple separate detentions on suspicion of the same criminal charges shall cumulatively count towards the time limit defined in clause 2;
4. Member states shall not detain any individual who has been formally charged with a crime but who has not been convicted of that crime for any longer than is necessary to provide that individual with a speedy trial in accordance with international law;
5. Member states shall not detain any individual for a particular criminal offense after that individual has been acquitted of that criminal offense;
6. Once an individual has been acquitted of a crime, member states shall not detain or try that individual for the same alleged criminal act again;
7. Member states may vacate an individual's conviction of a crime (e.g. due to new exculpatory evidence that was not available during the original trial) and either release the individual or grant the individual a new trial for that crime. If the individual is again convicted of the crime, the new sentence shall not be more severe than the old sentence, and any conditions of the old sentence (such as length of time detained) that have been met shall count toward the completion of the new sentence;
8. Member states shall not detain any individual for a particular criminal offense in excess of the individual's lawful criminal sentence for that offense;
9. Member states must allow all detained individuals to formally challenge the legality of their detention before an impartial adjudicator; should the individual's detention be deemed in contravention of either the member state's domestic law or international law (inclusive of this resolution), the member state must immediately release the individual;
10. Member states that dispense transactional immunity, defined as a legal immunity granted to a witness in which the witness cannot be prosecuted for offenses relating to their testimony, shall not retract the immunity post-testimony; furthermore, member states may not violate plea bargains given to individuals for their testimony under any circumstance, with exceptions made for perjury;
Co-Author: [nation=short]Quelesh[/nation]
Character Count: 4284