applies in all cases involving alleged criminal conduct and runs from the time of initial arrest or detention, including before formal charges are asserted, through to the final conclusion of criminal proceedings.103 Access to a judicial authority must be “prompt”. While the circumstances of a particular case may allow for a short delay, any time period exceeding 48 hours from the time of arrest must be “absolutely exceptional”.104 In the same vein, pre-trial detention is to remain an exception and should last as short a time as possible.105 According to the Human Rights Committee, detention will be considered arbitrary if a state continues to detain an individual “beyond the period for which the State party can provide appropriate justification”.106 International bodies and expert have also found that detaining persons accused of criminal conduct for prolonged periods or indefinitely without charge constitutes a per se violation of the prohibition.107 Furthermore, the greater the uncertainty of the duration of the detention, the greater the risk that such continued detention could cause severe mental pain and suffering to detainees, which may constitute ill-treatment.108 135. The second required mechanism of judicial oversight arises in the case of any form of detention and it requires states to establish and ensure detainees’ access to an effective and speedy mechanism to challenge the lawfulness of their arrest or detention before a court 103 UN HRC, General Comment No. 35, op. cit., note 92, para. 32. The HRC has treated delays of three or more days, for example, as being in violation of the prohibition of arbitrary and unlawful detention. UN HRC, General Comment No. 35, ibid., para. 33; “Report on Terrorism and Human Rights”, IACHR, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.116, 22 October 2002, para. 122, <http://www.cidh.oas.org/Terrorism/Eng/toc.htm>. See, for example: UN HRC, Rotislav Borisenko v. Hungary, Communication No. 852/1999, 6 December 2002, para. 7.4, <http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CCPR%2fC%2f76%2fD%2f852%2f1999&L ang=en>: three days; UN HRC, Michael Freemantle v. Jamaica, Communication No. 625/1995, 28 April 2000, para. 7.4, <http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CCPR%2fC%2f68%2fD%2f625%2f1995&L ang=en>: four days. 105 ICCPR, Art. 9(3); UN HRC, General Comment No. 35, ibid., para. 37; “Report on Terrorism and Human Rights”, IACHR, ibid., para. 23. In one case, for example, four years and four months of pre-trial detention was considered to be a violation of the prohibition of arbitrary and unlawful detention. UN HRC, Famara Koné v. Senegal, Communication No. 389/1989, 27 October 1994, paras. 8.6-8.7, <http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CCPR%2fC%2f52%2fD%2f386%2f1989&L ang=en>. 106 UN HRC, Omar Sharif Baban v. Australia, Communication No. 1014/2001, 18 September 2003, para. 7.2, <http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CCPR%2fC%2f78%2fD%2f1014%2f2001& Lang=en>; UN HRC, Danyal Shafiq v. Australia, Communication No. 1324/2004, 13 November 2006, para. 7.2, <http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CCPR%2fC%2f88%2fD%2f1324%2f2004& Lang=en>. 107 UN CAT, Concluding observations on the combined third to fifth periodic reports of the United States of America, CAT/C/USA/CO/3-5, 19 December 2014, para. 14, <http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CAT%2fC%2fUSA%2fCO%2f35&Lang=en>; UN CAT, Conclusions and recommendations of the Committee against Torture, United States of America, CAT/C/USA/CO/2, 25 July 2006, para. 22, <http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CAT/C/USA/CO/2&Lang=En>; Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, Report to the Human Rights Council, A/HRC/6/17/Add.3, op. cit., note 22, para. 36; “IACHR, UN Working Group on arbitrary detention, UN Rapporteur on torture, UN Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, and UN Rapporteur on health reiterate need to end the indefinite detention of individuals at Guantánamo Naval Base in light of current human rights crisis”, OHCHR website, 1 May 2013, <http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13278>. 108 “Statement of the UN Special Rapporteur on torture at the Expert Meeting on the situation of detainees held at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay – Inter-American Commission on Human Rights”, OHCHR website, 3 October 2013, <http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13859&LangID=E>. 104 52