Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2021)

3.   Protection of right to personal liberty

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    (1)   A person shall not be deprived of his or her personal liberty save as may be authorised by law in any of the following cases, that is to say—

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      (a)     in consequence of his or her unfitness to plead to a criminal charge or in execution of the sentence or order of a court, whether established for Saint Lucia or some other country, in respect of a criminal offence of which he or she has been convicted;

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      (b)     in execution of the order of the High Court or the Court of Appeal punishing him or her for contempt of the High Court or the Court of Appeal or of another court or tribunal;

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      ©     execution of the order of a court made to secure the fulfilment of any obligation imposed on him or her by law;

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      (d)     for the purpose of bringing him or her before a court in execution of the order of a court;

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      ©     upon a reasonable suspicion of his or her having committed, or being about to commit, a criminal offence under any law;

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      (f)     under the order of a court or with the consent of his or her parent or guardian, for his or her education or welfare during any period ending not later than the date when he or she attains the age of 18 years;

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      (g)     for the purpose of preventing the spread of an infectious or contagious disease;

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      (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 or her care or treatment or the protection of the community;

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      (i)     for the purpose of preventing his or her unlawful entry into Saint Lucia, or for the purpose of effecting his or her expulsion, extradition or other lawful removal from Saint Lucia or for the purpose of restraining him or her while he or she is being conveyed through Saint Lucia in the course of his or her extradition or removal as a convicted prisoner from one country to another; or

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      (j)     to such extent as may be necessary in the execution of a lawful order requiring him or her to remain within a specified area within Saint Lucia, or prohibiting him or her from being within such an area, or to such extent as may be reasonably justifiable for the taking of proceedings against him or her 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 or her during any visit that he or she is permitted to make to any part of Saint Lucia in which, in consequence of any such order, his or her presence would otherwise be unlawful.

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    (2)   Any person who is arrested or detained shall with reasonable promptitude and in any case no later than 24 hours after such arrest or detention be informed in a language that he or she understands of the reasons for his or her arrest or detention and be afforded reasonable facilities for private communication and consultation with a legal practitioner of his or her own choice and, in the case of a minor, with his or her parents or guardian.

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    (3)   Any person who is arrested or detained—

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      (a)     for the purpose of bringing him or her before a court in execution of the order of a court; or

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      (b)     upon reasonable suspicion of his or her having committed, or being about to commit, a criminal offence under any law,

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    and who is not released, shall be brought before a court without undue delay and in any case not later than 72 hours after such arrest or detention.

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    (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 or her having committed or being about to commit an offence, he or she shall not be thereafter further held in custody in connection with those proceedings or that offence save upon the order of a court.

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    (5)   If any person arrested or detained as mentioned in subsection (3)(b) is not tried within a reasonable time, then without prejudice to any further proceedings that may be brought against him or her, he or she shall be released either unconditionally or upon reasonable conditions, including in particular such conditions as are reasonably necessary to ensure that he or she appears at a later date for trial or for proceedings preliminary to trial, and such conditions may include bail so long as it is not excessive.

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    (6)   Any person who is unlawfully arrested or detained by any other person shall be entitled to compensation therefor from that other person or from any other person or authority on whose behalf that other person was acting:

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    Provided that a judge, a magistrate or a justice of the peace or an officer of a court or a police officer shall not be under any personal liability to pay compensation under this subsection in consequence of any act performed by him or her in good faith in the discharge of the functions of his or her office and any liability to pay any such compensation in consequence of any such act shall be a liability of the Crown.

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    (7)   For the purposes of subsection (1)(a) a person charged before a court with a criminal offence in respect of whom a special verdict has been returned that he or she was guilty of the act or omission charged but was insane when he or she 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.