A/HRC/30/37 1. The right of anyone deprived of his or her liberty to bring proceedings before a court, in order that the court may decide without delay on the lawfulness of his or her detention and obtain appropriate remedies upon a successful challenge, is widely recognized in international and regional human rights instruments, the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice and of international human rights mechanisms, including in the reports and country visits of treaty bodies and special procedure mandate holders, regional human rights mechanisms, in the domestic law of States and the jurisprudence of national courts. 2. The right to challenge the lawfulness of detention before a court is a self-standing human right, the absence of which constitutes a human rights violation. It is a judicial remedy designed to protect personal freedom and physical integrity against arbitrary arrest, detention, including secret detention, exile, forced disappearance or risk of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It is also a means of determining the whereabouts and state of health of detainees and of identifying the authority ordering or carrying out the deprivation of liberty. 3. This judicial remedy is essential to preserve legality in a democratic society. The effective exercise of this fundamental safeguard of personal liberty in all situations of deprivation of liberty, without delay and without exception, resulting in appropriate remedies and reparations, including an entitlement to release upon a successful challenge, must be guaranteed by the State. Numerous international and regional human rights bodies and instruments have articulated a strong position on the non-derogability in any circumstance of the right to bring such proceedings before a court. The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention urges all States to incorporate this position into their national laws. In practice, the absence of inclusive and robust national legal frameworks to ensure the effective exercise of the right to bring proceedings before a court has resulted in a protection gap for persons deprived of their liberty. 4. In this light, the Human Rights Council, in its resolution 20/16, requested the Working Group to present to the Council draft basic principles and guidelines on remedies and procedures on the right of anyone deprived of his or her liberty by arrest or detention to bring proceedings before a court in order that the court may decide without delay on the lawfulness of his or her detention and order his or her release if the detention is not lawful. The Working Group has complied closely with the request of the Council, that it seek the views of States, relevant United Nations agencies, intergovernmental organizations, treaty bodies and, in particular, the Human Rights Committee, other special procedures, national human rights institutions, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders. In 2013, the Working Group distributed a questionnaire to stakeholders in which it requested details on the right to bring such proceedings in their respective legal framework. 5. The Working Group submitted to the Human Rights Council, at its twenty-seventh session, a thematic report on the international, regional and national legal frameworks on the right to challenge the lawfulness and arbitrariness of detention before court (A/HRC/27/47). In the report, the Working Group documented general practice accepted as law, and further best practices in applying the requirements of international law. States and other stakeholders continued to make submissions up until the final session, when the document was adopted, adding to the materials available to the Working Group. 6. On 1 and 2 September 2014, the Working Group convened a global consultation in Geneva to bring together experts to elaborate on the scope and content of the right to bring proceedings before a court and to receive without delay appropriate remedies, and to allow stakeholders to contribute to the development of the Basic Principles and Guidelines (see annex). The background paper drew on the thematic report submitted to the Council (A/HRC/27/47) to set out the substantive and procedural obligations of States to ensure the meaningful exercise of the right to bring proceedings before a court and current State 2