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Habeas Corpus
The “Habeas Corpus Act” was passed in the reign of Charles II.,
and defined a provision of similar character in Magna Charta, to which
also it added certain details. The Act provides
(1) That any man taken
to prison can insist that the person who charges him with crime shall
bring him bodily before a judge, and state the why and wherefore of his
detention. As soon as this is done, the judge is to decide whether or
not the accused is to be admitted to bail. [No one, therefore, can be
imprisoned on mere suspicion, and no one can be left in prison any
indefinite time at the caprice of the powers that be. Imprisonment, in
fact, must be either for punishment after conviction, or for safe
custody till the time of trial.]
(2) It provides that every person accused of crime shall have the
question of his guilt decided by a jury of twelve men, and not by a
Government agent or nominee.
(3) No prisoner can be tried a second time on the same charge.
(4) Every prisoner may insist on being examined within twenty days
of his arrest, and tried by jury the next session.
(5) No defendant is to be sent to prison beyond the seas, either
within or without the British dominions.
The exact meaning of the words Habeas Corpus is this: “You
are to produce the body.” That is, You, the accuser, are to bring
before the judge the body of the accused, that he may be tried and
receive the award of the court, and you (the accused) are to abide by
the award of the judge.
Suspension of Habeas Corpus.
When the Habeas Corpus Act is suspended, the Crown can imprison
persons on suspicion, without giving any reason for so doing;
the person so arrested cannot insist on being brought before a judge to
decide whether or not he can be admitted to bail; it is not needful to
try the prisoner at the following assize; and the prisoner may be
confined in any prison the Crown chooses to select for the purpose.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894 More on Habeas Corpus from Infoplease:
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