Chapter 5 • Human Rights and Arrest, Pre-Trial and Administrative Detention In view of the fact that people arrested and detained are at particular risk of being subjected to torture or other ill-treatment, and even of being made to disappear and killed in the first hours and days following their deprivation of liberty, the question arises whether it should ever be lawful to permit incommunicado detention. Brief incommunicado detention, that is, deprivation of liberty for a short period of time in complete isolation from the outside world, including family and lawyer, does not per se appear to be illegal under international human rights law, but it cannot be used in order to bar the detainee from exercising his or her rights as an arrested or detained person. 10. Concluding Remarks This chapter has provided an account of the basic international legal rules that regulate States’ power to resort to arrests and detentions and the legal guarantees that exist aimed at preventing unlawful and arbitrary deprivations of liberty. At the general level, adherence to these rules is a sine qua non in a democratic society governed by the rule of law, and, at the individual level, compliance therewith is an indispensable condition for ensuring respect for the rights and freedoms of the individual human being, including, in particular, respect for his or her physical and mental integrity. By effectively guaranteeing everyone’s right to personal liberty and security at all times, States will also be promoting their own internal security, without which human rights cannot be enjoyed to the full. Human Rights in the Administration of Justice: A Manual on Human Rights for Judges, Prosecutors and Lawyers 211