What is the difference between summons, arrest and detention?

What is the difference between summons, arrest and detention?

Disclaimer: This is a legal article that provides information that does not replace consulting a competent lawyer to help you and for more accurate information.

The fundamental difference is in the effect of the procedure on your freedom:

• Summon or attendance order: A formal request to appear before an investigator at a specified time, without arrest or detention.
• Arrest: A temporary restriction of liberty for the purpose of bringing you before an investigator or arresting you if permitted by law; it does not automatically mean placing you in a detention center.
• Detention: A pretrial detention facility in a designated detention facility, ordered by the investigator after a statutory reason is met. The detention facility is fixed-term and subject to appeal.

First: Summoning (attendance order)

Article 103 of the Code of Criminal Procedure states: “The investigator in all cases may decide – as the case may be – on the presence of the person sought for investigation, or issue an arrest warrant for him if the circumstances of the investigation so require.”

The attendance order must include the person’s information, the time of attendance, the name of the investigator, his signature, and the official seal, in accordance with Article 104. The person wanted for investigation shall also be notified and a copy of him, if any, shall be delivered to him, or to one of his full family members living with him when he is not present, in accordance with Article 105.

Its practical effect: You receive an official request to attend at a specific hour and date, and remain free until you attend. But failure without an acceptable excuse may lead to escalation of arrest and summons.

Second: Arrest and summons

Arrest is placing a person under the control of the competent authority and not leaving him temporarily free. In the event of flagrante delicto, Article Thirty-Three stipulates: “In the event of flagrante delicto, the criminal arrestee may arrest the accused present for whom there is sufficient evidence”. A report shall be drawn up and the Public Prosecution shall be informed immediately.

Article 107 also allows the investigator to issue an arrest warrant if the accused does not appear after his official assignment without an acceptable excuse, or there is fear that he will escape, or if the crime was committed in the act, even if the incident did not require the accused to be arrested.

The arrest warrant, according to Article 104, stipulates that public authorities are tasked with arresting the accused and bringing him before the investigator immediately if he refuses to appear voluntarily.

Its practical effect: You may be taken to the investigator by force, but arrest and summons alone do not necessarily entail placing you in detention; Article Seventy-Six of the Executive Regulations states: “The issuance of an arrest and summons order – in accordance with Article (One Hundred and Seven) of the Law – does not require the arrest of the accused.” “

Third: Pretrial detention

Arrest is a more severe measure than arrest, as the accused is placed in a designated place of detention by order of the investigator. It is not issued merely because of a report or summons; rather, it is issued if, after interrogation, it becomes clear that the evidence is sufficient in a major crime, or if the investigation department requires his arrest, in accordance with Article 113.

The reasons for detention during the investigation, according to Article Twenty-Four of the Executive Regulations, include the crime being a major crime, the interest of the investigation, failure to designate a place of residence acceptable to the investigator, fear of escaping or disappearing, or failure to pledge to appear upon request.

The arrest warrant must include, in addition to the statements of the attendance order, assigning the detention director to accept the accused, stating the charge and its document, in accordance with Article 104.

Duration: Detention begins with an order not exceeding five days from the date of arrest in accordance with Article 113. Article 114 stipulates that it may be extended according to specific powers, provided that the extensions do not exceed forty days from the date of arrest of the accused. Then, they may be extended by order of the Public Prosecutor or his authorized representative to a total limit of one hundred and eighty days from the date of arrest, after which the accused shall be referred to the competent court or released. In exceptional cases, the court may agree to a longer extension by a reasoned judicial order.

A pretrial detainee has the right to appeal a detention order or its extension to the authority specified by law, and it must be decided within five days of its submission, in accordance with Article 115.

Conclusion:
Summon = Come voluntarily at the appointed time.
Arrest = bringing or temporary compulsive seizure.
Suspension = a reserve deposit of restricted duration by a reasoned order, with reasons, guarantees, and grievance.

Therefore, a mere summons cannot be considered an arrest or detention, and not every arrest can be considered an arrest.

For law and legal consultations..Contact the office of lawyer Abdul Majeed Al Rashid.

References

• Article 103 of the Code of Criminal Procedure
• Article 104 of the Code of Criminal Procedure
• Article 105 of the Code of Criminal Procedure
• Article 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure
• Article Thirty-Three of the Code of Criminal Procedure
• Article 113 of the Code of Criminal Procedure
• Article 114 of the Code of Criminal Procedure
• Article 115 of the Code of Criminal Procedure
• Article Seventy-Six of the Executive Regulations of the Code of Criminal Procedure