Contempt of Law

Freedom of thought is increasingly violated worldwide, the 'United Nations' (UN) - 'Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' (OHCHR) warns.

'Prima facie' (Latin for "at first impression”), it’s not a crime to think about heterogeneous acts of disobeying; cheating; stealing; raping, or killing.

Freedom of thought is an absolute right that is enshrined in (Article 18) of the ”Universal Declaration of Human Rights” (UDHR), and (Article 18 (1) of the “International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights”(ICCPR), alongside the distinct yet equal freedoms of conscience and religious beliefs.

In law the 'Corpus delicti' (Latin for "body of the crime”), is the principle that a crime must be proved to have occurred before one can be convicted of a crime.

The general rule is that no crime can be committed unless there is ‘mens rea’ (Latin for “guilty mind”), basically intent, but it is not enough, unless the ‘actus reus’ (Latin for "guilty act”), basically perpetration, is committed as well.

'Detentio administrative' (Latin for “administrative detention”), is the arrest and a deprivation of liberty or incarceration without trial or charge, alleging that a person plans to commit a future offense. It has no time limit, and the evidence on which it is based is not disclosed.

It is a form of arbitrary detention with no proper due process of law or order. In such, virtually all individuals who are arbitrarily arrested are given no explanation as to why they are being incarcerated, and they are not shown any arrest warrant.

Depending on the social context, many or the vast majority of arbitrarily arrested individuals may be held 'incommunicado' (Latin for “without mean of communication”), indefinitely, and their whereabouts can be concealed from their family; associates; lawyers; the public and open trial courts.

'Conspiratio' (Latin for "plot" or "conspiracy"), is a preliminary offence, usually categorized as an inchoate; rudimentary; or nascent crime, because it does not require that the illegal act actually be completed.

Whereby, “inchoate”, is something that just begun and so not fully formed or developed; whereas, “rudimentary” is relating to an immature, undeveloped, or basic form; whilst, “nascent”, is something that is beginning to exist, not yet fully developed.

'Incitamentum' (Latin for “incitement”), is the encouragement of others to commit a crime. Depending on the jurisdiction, some or all types of incitement may be illegal. Wherever illegal, it is known as an “inchoate offense”, where harm is intended but may or may not have actually occurred.

Opponents maintain that in essence, administrative detention is a form of collective punishment, since it bypasses the 'onus probandi' (Latin for "burden of proof"), or individuals guilt.

A number of jurisdictions claim that it is done for security reasons, as a 'sine qua non' (Latin for “necessary or essential”) measure of preventive detention and imprisonment that is putatively justified for non-punitive purposes, most often to prevent further and/or eventual criminal acts.

Many countries claim to use administrative detention 'de facto' (Latin for "in fact, whether legal right or not"), as a mean to combat terrorism or rebellion; to control illegal immigration, or ultimately protect the ruling regime 'status quo' (Latin for "existing state of affairs").

Thus, some have elected law enforcement "Sheriffs" who have demonstrated a will to arrest anyone they please without any cause or reason. The practice has been criticized by human rights organizations as a breach of civil and political rights.

'Amnesty International' (AI), believes that administrative detention breaches the ICCPR, a multilateral treaty that commits nations to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life; freedom of religion; speech; assembly; electoral ?privileges; rights to due process and a fair trial.

Although, the ICCPR does allow a government, under narrow circumstances, such as a public emergency threatening the life of a nation, to temporarily derogate from its obligation not to engage in arbitrary detention.

The UN has created the ‘Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’ (WGAD) under (Resolution 1991/42) by the former 'Commission on Human Right' (CHR). One of the issues the WGAD has focused on is the determination whether a detention is arbitrary or not, which is not clear-cut.

All said and done, arbitrarily depriving an individual of their liberty is prohibited under 'International human rights law' (IHRL) stipulated by the 1948 UDHR, (Article 6): Right to a fair trial; (Article 7): No punishment without law; (Article 8): Respect for your private and family life, home and correspondence; (Article 9): Freedom of thought, belief and religion; (Article 10(1) which protects the right to freedom of expression, while (Article 10(2) recognizes the need to protect the rights and freedoms of others as well.

In sum, no individual, regardless of circumstances, should be deprived of their liberty without having first committed an actual criminal offense against a legal statute, and government must not deprive an individual of their liberty without proper due process, in contempt of law…

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Food for thought!