Chapter 5 • Human Rights and Arrest, Pre-Trial and Administrative Detention 4.9 The right to be promptly brought before a judge or other judicial officer Article 9(3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides that “anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge shall be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power”. In article 7(5) of the American Convention on Human Rights this right concerns any “person detained”. As to article 5(3) of the European Convention on Human Rights, this right appertains to “everyone arrested or detained in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1(c) of this article”, which concerns “the lawful arrest or detention of a person effected for the purpose of bringing him before the competent legal authority on reasonable suspicion of having committed an offence or when it is reasonably considered necessary to prevent his committing an offence or fleeing after having done so”. The text of the African Charter does not specifically regulate this issue. However, according to article 7(1)(a) of the Charter, every individual shall have “the right to an appeal to competent national organs against acts of violating his fundamental rights as recognized and guaranteed by conventions, laws, regulations and customs in force” (see also case-law as to art. 6 of the Charter, below). ***** As noted by the Human Rights Committee, the first sentence of article 9(3) of the Covenant “is intended to bring the detention of a person charged with a criminal offence under judicial control”.108 Although the term “promptly” must, according to the jurisprudence of the Human Rights Committee, “be determined on a case-by-case-basis”, the delay between the arrest of an accused and the time before he is brought before a judicial authority “should not exceed a few days”.109 “In the absence of a justification for a delay of four days before bringing the author to a judicial authority”, this delay violated the notion of promptness in article 9(3).110 Furthermore, a one-week delay in a capital case before the author was first brought before a judge “cannot be deemed compatible with” article 9(3).111 A fortiori, where the complainant has been held for two and a half months or more before being brought before a judge, article 9(3) has also been violated.112 ***** 108 Communication No. 521/1992, V. Kulomin v. Hungary (Views adopted on 22 March 1996), in UN doc. GAOR, A/51/40 (vol. II), p. 80, para. 11.2; emphasis added. 109 Communication No. 373/1989, L. Stephens v. Jamaica (Views adopted on 18 October 1995), in UN doc. GAOR, A/51/40 (vol. II), p. 9, para. 9.6; emphasis added. 110 Communication No. 625/1995, M. Freemantle v. Jamaica (Views adopted on 24 March 2000), in UN doc. GAOR, A/55/40 (vol. II), p. 19, para. 7.4; emphasis added. See also violation of art. 9(3) where the delay exceeded eight days, Communication No. 373/1989, L. Stephens v. Jamaica (Views adopted on 18 October 1995), in UN doc. GAOR, A/51/40 (vol. II), p. 9, para. 9.6. 111 Communication No. 702/1996, C. McLawrence v. Jamaica (Views adopted on 18 July 1997), in UN doc. GAOR, A/52/40 (vol. II), p. 231, para. 5.6. 112 Communication No. 330/1988, A. Berry v. Jamaica (Views adopted on 7 April 1994), in UN doc. GAOR, A/49/40 (vol. II), pp. 26-27, para. 11.1. Human Rights in the Administration of Justice: A Manual on Human Rights for Judges, Prosecutors and Lawyers 185