COOK ISLANDS – CONSTITUTION

PART IVA - FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS

Construction of law

65 (1) Subject to subclause (2) of this Article and to subclause (2) of Article 64 hereof, every enactment shall be so construed and applied as not to abrogate, abridge, or infringe or to authorise the abrogation, abridgement, or infringement of any of the rights or freedoms recognised and declared by subclause (1) of Article 64 hereof, and in particular no enactment shall be construed or applied so as to-

(c) Deprive any person who is arrested or detained-

(ii) Of the right, wherever practicable to retain and instruct a barrister or solicitor without delay;

Article 55
Rights of persons during an investigation
2. Where there are grounds to believe that a person has committed a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court and that person is about to be questioned either by the Prosecutor, or by national authorities pursuant to a request made under Part 9, that person shall also have the following rights of which he or she shall be informed prior to being questioned:
(c) To have legal assistance of the person's choosing, or, if the person does not have legal assistance, to have legal assistance assigned to him or her, in any case where the interests of justice so require, and without payment by the person in any such case if the person does not have sufficient means to pay for it