“Every individual shall have the right to liberty and to the security of his
person. No one may be deprived of his freedom except for reasons and
conditions previously laid down by law. In particular, no one may be
arbitrarily arrested or detained.”
115. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in its Articles 3
and 9 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
in its Article 9(1) follow on the same vein.
116. Similarly, Article 7 of the American Convention on Human Rights and
Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights guarantee the right
to liberty and security of individuals, the latter being the only one that
specifically lists in paragraphs (a) to (f) the grounds that can legally justify
the deprivation of liberty.
117. All the above-mentioned human rights protection instruments
guarantee individuals the right to liberty and security of person, establishing
that the deprivation of liberty must, in all cases, occur for reasons and under
conditions previously determined by law (meaning domestic or national law
of the States Parties), in other words, respecting the principle of legality.
118. Similarly, the Human Rights Committee has observed that: “no one
shall be deprived of liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with
such procedure as are established by law(...). Deprivation of liberty without
such legal authorization is unlawful. Continued detention despite an
operative (exécutoire) judicial order of release or a valid amnesty is also
unlawful.” (See General Comment No. 35 §22).
119. In this regard, the Court wrote in the case BENSON OLUA OKOMBA
v. REPUBLIQUE DU BENIN, Judgment No. ECW/CCJ/JUD/05/15 that:
“The above-mentioned human rights treaties, provides that deprivation of
liberty within a State must in all cases be carried out in accordance with the
law.” (pag. 16) (See also the case CHIEF EBRIMAH MANNEH v. THE
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