A/HRC/27/47 their liberty as a result of a process in which they have been declared exempt from criminal responsibility (CRPD/C/ARG/CO/1, paras. 25 and 26). 48. The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has in its constant jurisprudence stated that all persons deprived of their liberty on health grounds must have judicial means of challenging their detention (E/CN.4/2004/3, para. 87). In its deliberation No. 7 on issues related to psychiatric detention, the Working Group stated that preventing mentally disabled persons from leaving may, in principle, amount to deprivation of liberty (E/CN.4/2005/6, para. 51). When assessing whether the measures taken are in compliance with international standards, the vulnerable position of persons affected by (alleged) illness has to be duly taken into consideration (E/CN.4/2005/6, para. 57). The Working Group applies the following criteria: Article 9, paragraph 4, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights shall be applied to anyone confined by a court order, administrative decision or otherwise in a psychiatric hospital or similar institution on account of his mental disorder. In addition, the necessity whether to hold the patient further in a psychiatric institution shall be reviewed regularly at reasonable intervals by a court or a competent independent and impartial organ, and the patient released if the grounds for his detention do not exist any longer. In the review proceedings, his vulnerable position and the need for appropriate representation must be taken into consideration (E/CN.4/2005/6, para. 58 (e)).16 III. Regional legal frameworks 49. The right to challenge the lawfulness of detention before court is enshrined in all of the major regional human rights treaties, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the American Convention on Human Rights, the Arab Charter on Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights. It is also captured in non-binding regional instruments, such as the Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Fair Trial and Legal Assistance in Africa, the Guidelines on Conditions of Police Custody and Pretrial Detention in Africa, the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, the Principles and Best Practices on the Protection of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the Americas, and the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration. Furthermore, it been the subject of interpretation by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the InterAmerican Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and the European Court of Human Rights. A. Africa 50. The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, in article 7 (1) (a), guarantees “the right to an appeal to competent national organs against acts violating his fundamental rights as recognized and guaranteed by conventions, laws, regulations and customs in force”. In its jurisprudence, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has pronounced that “the writ of habeas corpus was developed as the response of common law to arbitrary detention, permitting detained persons and their representatives to challenge such detention and to demand that the authority either release or justify all imprisonment” (143/95-150/96: Constitutional Rights Project and Civil Liberties Organization – Nigeria, para. 23). At its fifty-fifth session, the African Commission adopted the Guidelines on Conditions of Police Custody and Pre-Trial Detention in Africa (2014);17 under article 5 (h), upon arrest, persons must be informed of the right to challenge their detention. 16 17 See how this is reflected in national case law in P & Q [2014] UKSC 19. http://www.achpr.org/files/news/2013/03/d78/draft_guidelines_pre_trial_detention.pdf. 15