Article 5: Right to liberty and security

Articles of Human Rights
Article 5 protects your right to liberty and security
It focuses on protecting individuals’ freedom from unreasonable detention, as opposed to protecting personal safety.
You have a right to your personal freedom. This means you must not be imprisoned or detained without good reason. 
If you are arrested, the Human Rights Act provides that you have the right to:
  • be told in a language you understand why you have been arrested and what charges you face
  • be taken to court promptly
  • bail (temporary release while the court process continues), subject to certain conditions
  • have a trial within a reasonable time
  • go to court to challenge your detention if you think it is unlawful, and
  • compensation if you have been unlawfully detained.

Are there any restrictions to this right?There are certain circumstances in which public authorities can detain you as long as they act within the law. This applies, for example, if:
  • you have been found guilty of a crime and sent to prison
  • you have not done something a court has ordered you to do
  • there is reasonable suspicion that you have committed a crime, someone is trying to stop you committing a crime or they are trying to stop you running away from a crime
  • you have a mental health condition which makes it necessary to detain you
  • you are capable of spreading infectious disease
  • you are attempting to enter the country illegally, and
  • you are going to be deported or extradited (sent to a country where you have been accused of a crime).

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