PART II—GENERAL PROVISIONS.

Arrest, escape and retaking.

10. Arrest without warrant.

Any police officer may, without an order from a magistrate and without a warrant, arrest—

(a) any person whom he or she suspects upon reasonable grounds of having committed a cognisable offence, an offence under any of the provisions of Chapter XVI of the Penal Code Act or any offence for which under any law provision is made for arrest without warrant;

(b) any person who commits a breach of the peace in his or her presence;

(c) any person who obstructs a police officer while in the execution of his or her duty, or who has escaped or attempts to escape from lawful custody;

(d) any person whom he or she suspects upon reasonable grounds of being a deserter from the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces;

(e) any person whom he or she finds in any highway, yard or other place during the night and whom he or she suspects upon reasonable grounds of having committed or being about to commit a felony;

(f) any person whom he or she suspects upon reasonable grounds of having been concerned in any act committed at any place out of Uganda which, if committed in Uganda, would have been punishable as an offence, and for which he or she is, under the provisions of any written law, liable to be apprehended and detained in Uganda;

(g) any person having in his or her possession without lawful excuse, the burden of proving which excuse shall lie on that person, any implement of housebreaking;

(h) any person for whom he or she has reasonable cause to believe a warrant of arrest has been issued;

(i) any person in whose possession anything is found which may reasonably be suspected to be stolen property or who may reasonably be suspected of having committed an offence with reference to that thing.


11. Arrest of vagabonds, habitual robbers, etc.

Any officer in charge of a police station may in like manner arrest or cause to be arrested—

(a) any person found taking precautions to conceal his or her presence within the limits of that station under circumstances which afford reason to believe that he or she is taking the precautions with a view to committing a cognisable offence;

(b) any person within the limits of that station who has no ostensible means of subsistence or who cannot give a satisfactory account of himself or herself;

(c) any person who is by repute an habitual robber, housebreaker or thief, or an habitual receiver of stolen property knowing it to be stolen, or who by repute habitually commits extortion or in order to commit extortion habitually puts or attempts to put persons in fear of injury.


12. Procedure when police officer deputes subordinate to arrest without warrant.

When any officer in charge of a police station requires any officer subordinate to him or her to arrest without a warrant (otherwise than in his or her presence) any person who may lawfully be arrested without a warrant, he or she shall deliver to the officer required to make the arrest an order in writing specifying the person to be arrested and the offence or other cause for which the arrest is to be made.

PART II—GENERAL PROVISIONS.

Arrest, escape and retaking.

17. Detention of persons arrested without warrant.

(1) When any person has been taken into custody without a warrant for an offence other than murder, treason or rape, the officer in charge of the police station to which the person is brought may in any case and shall, if it does not appear practicable to bring the person before an appropriate magistrate’s court within twenty-four hours after he or she was so taken into custody, inquire into the case, and, unless the offence appears to the officer to be of a serious nature, release the person on his or her executing a bond, with or without sureties, for a reasonable amount to appear before a magistrate’s court at a time and place to be named in the bond; but where any person is retained in custody, he or she shall be brought before a magistrate’s court as soon as practicable.

(2) An officer in charge of a police station may discharge a person arrested on suspicion on any charge when, after due police inquiry, insufficient evidence is, in his or her opinion, disclosed on which to proceed with a charge.

(3) Where, on a person’s being taken into custody in the circumstances mentioned in subsection (1) it appears to the police officer in charge of the police station to which the person is brought that the inquiry into the case cannot be completed forthwith, he or she may release that person on his or her executing a bond, with or without sureties, for a reasonable amount to appear at such a police station and at such a time as is named in the bond unless he or she previously receives a notice in writing from the officer in charge of that police station that his or her attendance is not required; and any such bond may be enforced as if it were conditioned for the appearance of that person before the magistrate’s court having jurisdiction in the area in which the police station named in the bond is situated.

Article 58
Issuance by the Pre-Trial Chamber of a warrant of arrest or a summons to appear
5. On the basis of the warrant of arrest, the Court may request the provisional arrest or the
arrest and surrender of the person under Part 9.

Article 59
Arrest proceedings in the custodial State
1. A State Party which has received a request for provisional arrest or for arrest and surrender
shall immediately take steps to arrest the person in question in accordance with its laws and the
provisions of Part 9.
2. A person arrested shall be brought promptly before the competent judicial authority in the
custodial State which shall determine, in accordance with the law of that State, that:
(a) The warrant applies to that person;
(b) The person has been arrested in accordance with the proper process; and
(c) The person’s rights have been respected.
3. The person arrested shall have the right to apply to the competent authority in the custodial
State for interim release pending surrender.
4. In reaching a decision on any such application, the competent authority in the custodial
State shall consider whether, given the gravity of the alleged crimes, there are urgent and
exceptional circumstances to justify interim release and whether necessary safeguards exist to
ensure that the custodial State can fulfil its duty to surrender the person to the Court. It shall not be
open to the competent authority of the custodial State to consider whether the warrant of arrest
was properly issued in accordance with article 58, paragraph 1 (a) and (b).
5. The Pre-Trial Chamber shall be notified of any request for interim release and shall make
recommendations to the competent authority in the custodial State. The competent authority in
the custodial State shall give full consideration to such recommendations, including any
recommendations on measures to prevent the escape of the person, before rendering its decision.
6. If the person is granted interim release, the Pre-Trial Chamber may request periodic
reports on the status of the interim release.
7. Once ordered to be surrendered by the custodial State, the person shall be delivered to the
Court as soon as possible.

Article 92
Provisional arrest
1. In urgent cases, the Court may request the provisional arrest of the person sought, pending presentation of the request for surrender and the documents supporting the request as specified in article 91.
2. The request for provisional arrest shall be made by any medium capable of delivering a written record and shall contain:
(a) Information describing the person sought, sufficient to identify the person, and information as to that person's probable location;
(b) A concise statement of the crimes for which the person's arrest is sought and of the facts which are alleged to constitute those crimes, including, where possible, the date and location of the crime;
(c) A statement of the existence of a warrant of arrest or a judgement of conviction against the person sought; and
(d) A statement that a request for surrender of the person sought will follow.
3. A person who is provisionally arrested may be released from custody if the requested State has not received the request for surrender and the documents supporting the request as specified in article 91 within the time limits specified in the Rules of Procedure and Evidence. However, the person may consent to surrender before the expiration of this period if permitted by the law of the requested State. In such a case, the requested State shall proceed to surrender the person to the Court as soon as possible.
4. The fact that the person sought has been released from custody pursuant to paragraph 3 shall not prejudice the subsequent arrest and surrender of that person if the request for surrender and the documents supporting the request are delivered at a later date.