03.01.02.03 – Accused (awaiting trial)

A DETAINED ACCUSED is a person who, while awaiting the outcome of his or her trial, is held in a house of detention to ensure his or her presence in court or to ensure public protection and safety.  Such a person is INELIGIBLE for last resort assistance.

Similarly, a court may order an ACCUSED to undergo a PSYCHIATRIC ASSESSMENT in a hospital environment in order to determine whether he or she is able to stand trial or whether he or she was insane when the offence charged was committed.  This accused is considered as sheltered as soon as the order is pronounced and he or she retains this status regardless whether this evaluation is undertaken in a house of detention.

Pending his or her trial, the court may order the ACCUSED to reside in an establishment other than a penitentiary, a house of detention or any other prison (e.g.: a drug abuse centre). The accused in this situation is ELIGIBLE to regular assistance and is not considered as a required to reside.

The ACCUSED who is conditionally released after having posted a bond is eligible to regular assistance.

The ACCUSED is an individual required to account for an offense and who was not judged or sentenced. Since the accused benefits from the presumption of innocence, he or she may only be incarcerated pending his or her hearing before a judge or following the decision of this judge.

The accused who does not comply with these conditions of release is not considered unlawfully at large, except if an arrest warrant was issued. The accused referred in a hospital centre to be treated, following the decision of a judge, is eligible to regular assistance. However, if the accused was transferred to the hospital centre by the HOUSE OF DETENTION DIRECTOR, he or she is deemed on a temporary absence.