CSPRI participates in international seminar on pre-trial detention

CSPRI researcher Jean Redpath provided insights around the problem of pre-trial detention in the African context, with particular emphasis on problems in measuring the impact of interventions and of policy change.

The event was hosted by Fair Trials in London on 24-25 September 2015. The first day of the event brought together Fair Trials project partners who have been researching the pre-trial phase in countries across Europe.

Particular attention was given to the issue of the decision to detain pre-trial, with participants indicating very different practices and procedures across Europe. The meeting noted that the European Covenant on Human Rights obliges states to consider alternative measures to detention. All other alternatives that might be effective should be considered carefully, and preferred, and if alternatives measures are rejected, reasons must be given. This is not always the case in practice, as prelimiary reports from project partner’s Country Reports reveal. The final reports, when published, will highlight their findings and provide practical recommendations.

The second day of the event heard guest participants from South America and from Africa, who reported on the work of their organisations and notable aspects of the pre-trial detention situation in their regions. Both regions reported problems with the arrest phase and gave less prominence to the judicial decision to detain pre-trial. CSPRI provided input on the development of indicators for the measurement of pre-trial detention in Africa.