Preventive detention

Preventive detention allows the state to detain a person without trial, not as

punishment for something they have already done, but to prevent them from doing something harmful

in the future -- for example, detaining someone the authorities believe is about to commit an act

that threatens public order or national security. This is a serious departure from the ordinary

criminal process, where a person is punished only after being tried and found guilty of a specific

offence.

Because preventive detention is such a powerful tool, and so easily misused to silence political

opponents or suppress dissent, Article 22 builds in specific safeguards: a person detained cannot

normally be held for more than three months without the case being reviewed by an advisory board,

and the grounds of detention must generally be communicated to the person so that they have a fair …