The detention rights of suspects and accused persons in England (and Wales) and Nigeria: rights development as a work in progress

Abstract

This thesis presents a comparative analysis of the pre-trial process and detention practices in England and Wales, and Nigeria, and the rights therein available to arrested persons, detainees and suspects at the custodial stage of proceedings. The thesis also attempts to understand how rights are effectively translated from theory to practice. To achieve this, this study begins, against the backdrop of the generally-accepted tripartite form of regulation, by examining the legal and institutional framework governing the detention stage and the entire pre-trial system in both jurisdictions from a theoretical perspective, before analysing the delivery and protection of the rights in practice, as well as the mechanisms in existence to facilitate a realignment or ensure a smoother delivery of the rights in practice, where a lacuna exists between the existence of the rights in theory and their protection in practice. The study finds that rights development is a work in progress and finds that, on the theoretical level, the rights sought to be protected in both jurisdictions are essentially the same. However, there are differences in the nature of the rights as they exist and, as a result of a number of inherent shortcomings of the different frameworks and a number of attitudinal factors in both jurisdictions, the rights are not always thoroughly or effectively protected in practice. The study also finds that the clarity of the provisions which establish the rights to be protected, or the lack thereof, are of great importance in the protection of the rights in practice. The thesis concludes by analysing the realignment mechanisms in place in both jurisdictions, including the external influence of the respective regional rights systems, and contends that the most important means of achieving the best rights’ practice begins with a clear statement of the goal and a clearly delineated framework; and that despite the presence of external factors to facilitate development and realignment in an increasingly converging criminal justice world, the strongest and most efficient way to bridge the gap between theory and practice is by a strong political will and a clearly delineated internal legal and institutional framework.