Constitutional foundations and fair trial rights in criminal process
This domain tests whether you can anchor every procedural step in Chapter 5 and Article 19 of the 1992 Constitution rather than in Act 30 alone. Problem questions describe police or court conduct and ask what right is engaged, what consequence follows, and what remedy is available.
The liberty guarantee: Article 14
- Article 14(1) protects personal liberty; deprivation is lawful only within the listed exceptions.
- Article 14(2): on arrest the person must be told immediately, in a language he understands, the reasons for the arrest.
- Article 14(3): a person arrested on reasonable suspicion of an offence must be brought before a court within 48 hours.
- Article 14(4): the High Court, or another court of competent jurisdiction, may issue habeas corpus.
- Article 14(5): unlawful arrest attracts compensation from the officer and from the authority on whose behalf he acted.
Article 19: the fair-trial bundle
Presumption of innocence with the burden on the prosecution (19(2)); adequate time and facilities, counsel of choice, and legal aid where the interests of justice require (19(5)); public trial with narrow exceptions; a free interpreter; the power to examine witnesses; no compulsion to testify (19(10)); legality of offences and penalties (19(11)); and the prohibition on double jeopardy (19(9)). Article 33 is the enforcement route in the High Court, and Article 130 is not the right vehicle for a routine criminal complaint.
Worked example
Police arrest Ama at 6pm on Friday over a robbery complaint and keep her at the station until Thursday, taking a caution statement on Tuesday. The 48 hours runs from arrest and is not extended by weekends or public holidays; the outer limit expired at 6pm on Sunday, so detention after that is unlawful whatever the strength of the case. Remedies: habeas corpus, a complaint to the Police Professional Standards Bureau, compensation under Article 14(5), and a voire dire challenge to the voluntariness of Tuesday's statement, since prolonged unlawful custody is a classic inducement. The trial itself is not automatically voided.
Traps that cost marks
- Writing 72 hours, or counting from arrival at the station rather than arrest.
- Assuming a constitutional breach voids the charge or the whole proceedings.
- Treating Article 19 as relevant only at trial and ignoring its investigative dimension.
- Forgetting the personal remedy against the officer as well as the institutional remedy.