ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a general overview of the approach of international human rights law to the issue of detention without charge or trial. Detention without charge or trial may take a number of forms and may be referred to using a multitude of terms. These include preventive detention, administrative detention, ministerial detention, and extrajudicial detention. There is significant overlap amongst these terms; therefore, for the purposes of this chapter, the term detention without charge or trial is used to include all these forms of detention. There are numerous circumstances in which a person may be detained without charge or trial. Examples include the mandatory detention of asylum seekers pending determination of their refugee status, quarantining of people with infectious diseases, involuntary commitment in psychiatric institutions, imprisonment of those suspected of involvement in terrorist-related activities, detention of members of the military for disciplinary purposes, and detention prior to extradition ( Keyzer 2009a: 262; International Commission of Jurists 2005: 4; Figure 2.1). Another example is the detention of serious sex offenders following the serving of their sentences. This particular example is discussed at length in other chapters of this book. This chapter considers whether, and in what circumstances, detention without charge or trial is legal pursuant to international human rights law.
