Protection of right to personal liberty.

5.- (1) A person shall not be deprived of his personal liberty save as may be authorized by law in any of the following cases, that is to say-

a) in consequence of his unfitness to plead to a criminal charge;

b) in execution of the sentence or order of a court, whether established for Saint Christopher and Nevis or some other country, in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been convicted;

c) in execution of the order of the High Court or the Court of Appeal punishing him for contempt of that court or of another court or tribunal;

d) in execution of the order of a court made to secure the fulfillment of any obligation imposed on him by law;

e) for the purpose of bringing him before a court in execution of the order of a court;

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

g) 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;

h) for the purpose of preventing the spread of an infectious of contagious disease;

i) 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 case or treatment or the protection of the community;

j) for the purpose of preventing the unlawful entry of that person into Saint Christopher and Nevis or for the purpose of effecting the expulsion, extradition or other lawful removal of that person from Saint Christopher and Nevis or for the purpose of restricting that person while he is being conveyed through Saint Christopher and Nevis in the course of his extradition or removal as a convicted prisoner from one country to another; or

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

(2) Any person who is arrested or detained shall with reasonable promptitude and in any case not later than forty-eight hours after such arrest or detention be informed in a language that he understands of the reasons for his arrest or detention and be afforded reasonable facilities for private communication and consultation with a legal practitioner of his own choice and, in the case of a person under the age of eighteen years, with his parents or guardian.

(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 seventy-two hours after his 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 a criminal 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) is not tried within a reasonable time, then, without prejudice to any further proceedings that may be brought against him, he shall be released either unconditionally or upon reasonable conditions, including in particular such conditions as are reasonably necessary to ensure that he 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.

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

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

(7) For the purposes of subsection (1)(b) 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 or that he is not guilty by reason of insanity shall be regarded as a person who has been convicted of a criminal offence and the detention of that person in consequence of such a verdict shall be regarded as detention in execution of the order of a court.

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