Obligation to bring an Arrested Person Before a Justice without Delay
Bail/Arrest It occasionally happens that an individual who is arrested is kept overnight until his/her bail hearing the next day. Counsel should be mindful that there is a statutory obligation set out in section 503 of the Criminal Code, requiring that the arrested individual be brought before a justice without delay. The obligation of the police is to bring an arrested person who is detained before a justice “without delay”. Twenty-four hours is the outer limit of what a reasonable period is, where a justice is available. The police do not have an unqualified right to keep someone in custody for the purposes of investigation for a twenty-four hour period before taking him before a justice. ...