Charter Rights: Legal Rights: Difference between revisions

Section 9 gives everyone the right not to be arbitrarily arrested, held, or imprisoned. Something is arbitrary if there is no good reason for it or if it is done because of someone's opinion and there is no good reason for that opinion. The Criminal Code and other laws control powers of arrest and those laws must be consistent with section 9 of the Charter. For example, the police can arrest a person who they reasonably believe committed a murder or fraud or some other criminal offence. The person must be brought before a Justice of the Peace as soon as possible—normally within 24 hours—to see if they can be released from custody. The police cannot hold the suspect in custody without proper grounds (or reasons) to arrest or detain them. The police must be able to justify what they did.