South African Constitution > Summary of the South African Bill of Rights > Section 35: Arrested, Detained and Accused Persons
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Section 35: Arrested, Detained and Accused Persons

Arrested People

If a person is arrested, they have the right to:

  • Keep silent
  • Be told, in a language that they understand, that they have the right to keep silent and what will happen if they do not keep silent
  • Not to be forced to make a confession or to admit anything that could be used against them during their trial
  • Be taken to court within 48 hours of their arrest
  • Be charged and released, either on warning or on bail, unless there is a good reason to keep the person in jail
Detained People

If a person is detained (kept in jail or a police cell), either while they are waiting for their trial, or after they have been sentenced, they have the right to:

  • Be told in a language they understand why they are being detained
  • Be informed immediately that they can have a lawyer
  • Choose their own lawyer
  • Have the government pay for a state lawyer, if they cannot afford one and injustice might result if they are not given a lawyer
  • Be kept in proper conditions, including being allowed exercise and getting food
  • Accommodation, food, reading material and medical treatment at the state’s expense
  • Speak to and be visited by the person’s husband, wife or partner, their family, a religious counselor, and their own doctor
  • Go to court to challenge the reasons for their detention, and to be released if there are not lawful reasons for being detained
Accused People

A person accused of committing a crime must be given a fair trial. This includes the right to:

  • Be treated as an innocent person
  • Be told what the charge is against them
  • Be told that they have a right to a lawyer
  • Their own lawyer or a lawyer paid for by the government, if they cannot afford one and injustice might result if they are not given a lawyer
  • Be given enough time to prepare their defence
  • A public trial in an ordinary court
  • Be present during their trial
  • Keep silent
  • Not be forced to give evidence against themselves
  • Call witnesses and challenge any witnesses used against them
  • Be tried in a language that they understand, or to have an interpreter
  • Not be convicted for doing something which became a crime after they did it, in other words, if it was not a crime when they did it
  • Be sentenced within a reasonable time if they are convicted
  • Be sentenced to the least serious punishment, if the punishment for what they have done has changed since they did it
  • Appeal against their conviction and sentence to a higher court
  • Have their case reviewed by a higher court
  • Not be tried twice for the same crime

If the state gets evidence against a person by going against one of their rights, this evidence will not be allowed in court.