The Problem

Illegal detention is a worldwide problem affecting primarily the poor.  While Sustainable Development Goal 16 of the United Nations, aimed at improving access to justice, was intended in part to address this problem, progress has been slow.  In 2017, the United Nations noted that globally, “the proportion of people held in detention without being sentenced for a crime has remained almost unchanged — from 32 per cent of total prisoners in 2003-2005 to 31 per cent in 2013-2015 — which indicates that substantive progress has not been achieved in the ability of judicial systems to process and try the accused in a fair and transparent manner.” The problem exists despite legislation in most countries setting strict timeframes in which a suspect stopped and in custody must appear before a judicial officer.  Unfortunately, all over the world and more often in developing countries, persons are not brought before an independent judicial officer within the legally required time.  Suspects, primarily poor, are held illegally in police custody or other pretrial detention facilities, where they are often tortured to confess and pressured to pay corrupt officials for their release.