Protection of right to personal liberty

(1) A person shall not be deprived of his personal liberty save as may be authorised by law in any of the following cases, that is to say– (a) in consequence of his unfitness to plead to a criminal charge or in execution of the sentence or order of a court, whether established for Belize or some other country, in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been convicted; 16 (b) in execution of the order of the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal punishing him for contempt of the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal or of another court or tribunal; (c) in execution of the order of a court made to secure the fulfillment of any obligation imposed on him by law; (d) for the purpose of bringing him before a court in execution of the order of a court; (e) upon a reasonable suspicion of his having committed, or being about to commit, a criminal offence under any law; (f) under the order of a court or with the consent of his parent or guardian, for his education or welfare during any period ending not later than the date when he attains the age of eighteen years; (g) for the purpose of preventing the spread of an infectious or contagious disease; (h) 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 care or treatment or the protection of the community; (i) for the purpose of preventing his unlawful entry into Belize, or for the purpose of effecting his expulsion, extradition or other lawful removal from Belize or for the purpose of restraining him while he is being conveyed through Belize in the course of his 17 extradition or removal as a convicted prisoner from one country to another; or (j) to such extent as may be necessary in the execution of a lawful order requiring him to remain within a specified area within Belize, or prohibiting him from being within such an area, or to such extent as may be reasonably justifiable for the taking of proceedings against him with a view to the making of any such order or relating to such an order after it has been made, or to such extent as may be reasonably justifiable for restraining him during any visit that he is permitted to make to any part of Belize in which, in consequence of any such order, his presence would otherwise be unlawful. (2) Any person who is arrested or detained shall be entitled– (a) to be informed promptly, and in any case no later than twenty-four hours after such arrest or detention, in a language he understands, of the reasons for his arrest or detention; (b) to communicate without delay and in private with a legal practitioner of his choice and, in the case of a minor, with his parents or guardian, and to have adequate opportunity to give instructions to a legal practitioner of his choice; (c) to be informed immediately upon his arrest of his rights under paragraph (b) of this subsection; and (d) to the remedy by way of habeas corpus for determining the validity of his detention. 18 (3) Any person who is arrested or detained– (a) for the purpose of bringing him before a court in execution of the order of a court; or (b) upon reasonable suspicion of his having committed, or being about to commit, a criminal offence under any law, and who is not released, shall be brought before a court without undue delay and in any case not later than forty-eight hours after such arrest or detention. (4) Where any person is brought before a court in execution of the order of a court in any proceedings or upon suspicion of his having committed or being about to commit an offence, he shall not be thereafter further held in custody in connection with those proceedings or that offence save upon the order of a court. (5) If any person arrested or detained as mentioned in subsection (3) (b) of this section is not tried within a reasonable time, then without prejudice to any further proceedings that may be brought against him, he shall, unless he is released, be entitled to bail on reasonable conditions. (6) Any person who is unlawfully arrested or detained by any other person shall be entitled to compensation therefore from that other person or from any other person or authority on whose behalf that other person was acting, Provided that no person shall be liable for any act done in the performance of a judicial function for which he would not be liable apart from this subsection. (7) For the purposes of subsection (1) (a) of this section, a person charged before a court with a criminal offence in respect of whom a special verdict has been returned that he was guilty of the act or omission charged but was insane when 19 he did the act or made the omission shall be regarded as a person who has been convicted of a criminal offence and the detention of a person in consequence of such a verdict shall be regarded as detention in execution of the order of a court. law.