E/CN.4/1999/63/Add.2
page 26
6.
The right to be brought promptly before a judge or
other officer authorized by law and to be informed
of the nature and cause of the charge
139. The contents of paragraphs 71 and 93 (c) have led the Working Group to
conclude that the time it takes before persons are brought before a judge is
not compatible with the idea of “promptly”, as provided for in article 9,
paragraphs 2 and 3, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights.
140. The Working Group was also informed of cases such as that of
Alfredo Carrillo, a minor who was held by DINCOTE from 10 January to
18 February 1993 (Opinion No. 13/1995).
7.
The right to be released on bail
141. The situations described in paragraphs 52, 80 and 81 and the relevant
provisions of Legislative Decree No. 895 of 1978 are not consistent with
article 14 of the Covenant (pre-trial detention should be the exception, but
release may be subject to guarantees to appear for trial).
8.
The right to have adequate time and facilities
for the preparation of one's defence and to
communicate with counsel
142. Article 14, paragraph 3 (b), of the Covenant, the Basic Principles on
the Role of Lawyers adopted by the Eighth United Nations Congress on the
Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Prisoners in Havana in 1990 and
principles 7 and 8 of the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons
under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment seem to be seriously undermined,
as shown by paragraphs 73, 76, 77, 85 and 93 (i), although the initial
harshness was eliminated as a result of the adoption of Act No. 26.447. The
prohibition on defence lawyers defending more than one person at a time was
also repealed on 25 November 1993.
143. In Opinion No. 13/1995, concerning the case of the minor
Alfredo Carrillo, the Working Group noted that the accused had had no defence
and, even though the lawyer had been present during the interrogation, he had
been totally passive and did not participate in any other part of the
proceedings.
144. In 1994, the DINCOTE Anti-Terrorism Security System Headquarters asked
the Bar Association of Piura for information on 260 lawyers, many of them
outstanding human rights defenders, allegedly as part of an investigation into
the illegal practice of the law by those lawyers. NGOs have argued that, if
that were so, it did not explain why so many of the persons under
investigation were defenders of so-called terrorists or why this was of
concern to the intelligence unit. The report of the Special Rapporteur on the
independence of judges and lawyers (paras. 125 and 126) mentioned other cases
of harassment of lawyers.
145. The Working Group interviewed lawyers arrested in November 1997 on
charges of treason. They said that the only charge that might cause them
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents