A/HRC/4/40/Add.3
page 11
38.
The Code of Criminal Procedure has imposed strict limitations on the use of pretrial
custody. Article 168 states that deprivation of liberty may only be applied when other protection
measures are inadequate to ensure that the purposes of the proceedings are fulfilled. These
restrictions do not apply to offences involving the sale or use of drugs or the laundering of
money or other proceeds resulting from illicit activities. In these cases the judge is obliged to
order pretrial custody.
39.
Pursuant to article 163 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the judge may only order
pretrial custody at the request of the prosecution and only on condition that certain specified
circumstances are attested, relating primarily to the nature of the offence committed and the
presumption of the involvement of the detainee, and also on condition the detainee is unlikely to
attempt to escape, will not impede the proceedings or pose a danger to victims or that there is no
risk of him or her committing further offences.
40.
The new code sets shorter periods for the conduct of criminal proceedings at first
instance which are even further reduced when the accused is being held in pretrial custody and
which, in its turn, entails stricter monitoring to ensure that pretrial custody does not extend
beyond these statutory periods. Under article 134, the detainee must be released if the judge has
been unable to pass judgement within three months following conduct of the preliminary
hearing. The period set for the conduct of proceedings for serious offences where the accused
has been remanded in custody is three months; this is reduced to one month in the case of less
serious offences and 10 days for misdemeanours.
41.
These periods may be extended in the case of particularly complex proceedings such as
those relating to terrorist activities; trafficking in persons and drugs; and banking and similar
offences. A declaration of complexity of the offence must be submitted during the initial
hearing; once approved, it may serve as the basis for ordering the continuance of pretrial custody
for periods of up to one year.
42.
As a general rule, article 179 of the code stipulates that, once sentence has been passed,
the period of pretrial custody may not exceed the period stipulated in the contested judgement
and, if it has, the detainee shall be released forthwith.
(f)
43.
Detention in the enforcement of judgements
The 1974 Criminal Code establishes, among other things, the following penalties:
(a)
Normal imprisonment, namely, deprivation of liberty for periods of between
3 and 30 years. These must be served in a prison and involve the performance of agricultural or
factory work within the correctional institution or community service outside the facility
(arts. 56 and 59);
(b)
Medium-term normal imprisonment, defined as deprivation of liberty for periods
of between 1 and 12 years, which must be served in a prison or a special agricultural penal
colony and which involves the performance of work exclusively within the custodial
establishment (arts. 36 and 60);