E/CN.4/1995/31/Add.4 page 4 II. LEGAL STATUS OF PERSONS DEPRIVED OF LIBERTY A. Applicable rules of law 1. (a) Procedural rules Arrest and pre-trial detention 12. An arrest may be made in two types of situations. The first is that which is provided for in article 63 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and which deals with the arrest of persons as a matter of urgency, i.e. in accordance with this article: (a) When there are reasons to believe that a person is preparing to commit a serious violation of criminal law; (b) Where the victim or any other person present at the scene of the crime has been an eyewitness to the crime and has recognized the person who committed it and where the arrest is necessary to prevent that person from getting away; (c) Where evidence of a crime has been discovered on the person or at the home of the suspect and where the arrest is necessary to prevent him from getting away or the evidence from being destroyed. The second situation relates to flagrante delicto and persons wanted for the commission of a crime. It is covered by article 64 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which, in such cases, entitles any person to arrest the persons concerned and to take them to the nearest police station, to the prosecutor or to the people’s committee. 13. Where persons are arrested as a matter of urgency or in flagrante delicto, the investigation services must take their statements as soon as they have been brought in and, within 24 hours, either issue an arrest warrant or release them (art. 65, para. 1). In the case of persons who are wanted, the investigation services must, after having taken their statements, immediately inform the authority who issued the wanted notice and take the persons to the nearest detention centre (art. 65, para. 2). A guarantee for persons in respect of whom an arrest warrant is issued is provided for in article 67, which makes it an obligation for the official who issued the warrant to inform the family of the arrested person without delay, as well as the committee of the village where the person lives or works. (i) Police custody 14. Article 68 provides for the possibility of placing in police custody a person arrested as a matter of urgency or in flagrante delicto, as referred to in articles 63 and 64. Within 24 hours, the order for police custody must be submitted for the opinion of the prosecutor at the corresponding level. If he considers that the order is not necessary, he must cancel it and order the