An Act to ensure the protection of the rights of prisoners, and to govern the issue and observance of writs of habeas corpus.
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Whereas the Constitution provides that no citizen shall be arbitrarily arrested or detained, and that any citizen arrested or detained is entitled to the benefit of the writ of habeas corpus, and that any citizen whose rights are infringed or violated is entitled to apply to a court of law for remedy; and whereas the Criminal Offenses Act 2008 provides that no person shall be detained longer than twenty-four hours without indictment; and whereas the Parliament is desirous that all persons wrongfully imprisoned should receive just and speedy relief:
Be it therefore enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords and Commons in Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
1. Every prisoner held under His Majesty’s authority, or under the authority of the Parliament or of either House thereof, for any reason, shall be afforded ample opportunity to petition any higher court of law for the issue of a writ of habeas corpus in respect of him- or herself, and shall be given such assistance in this matter as he or she may require.
2. Any higher court of law shall, upon receipt of a petition for the issue of a writ of habeas corpus in respect of any prisoner, promptly issue, in His Majesty’s name and under the seal of that court, the said writ, directed to the officer in whose custody the prisoner shall be held.
3. Any officer in whose custody any prisoner shall be held shall, within five days of receiving from any higher court of law a writ of habeas corpus in respect of that prisoner, bring or cause to be brought the prisoner before that court, and shall there certify the cause of the prisoner’s being held.
4. Any court which shall have issued a writ of habeas corpus in respect of any prisoner shall, upon that prisoner’s being brought before that court, judge whether the prisoner is lawfully and rightfully held. If this is not so, the court shall immediately discharge the prisoner from imprisonment. But if this is so, the court shall discharge the prisoner from imprisonment on bail, with such surety as the court shall deem fit and reasonable, or without surety, unless there are substantial grounds for the belief that the prisoner, if discharged on bail, would abscond or would commit further offenses.
5. Any officer in whose custody any prisoner shall be held, or any judge or justice of any higher court of law, or any other public officer, who fails to comply with the requirements of this Act, shall be guilty of obstruction of justice.
6. No prisoner held under His Majesty’s authority, or under the authority of the Parliament or of either House thereof, for any reason, shall be held in the custody of any person other than a public officer of the Kingdom of Æfira.
7. In this Act, the term “higher court of law” shall refer to the High Court of Justice or any other court designated as such by His Majesty or by Parliament.
8. This Act may be cited as the Habeas Corpus Act 2008.
His Majesty’s Stationery Office
