Madina MP initiates bill on compensation for unlawful arrest and prosecution

June 22, 2021 1:42 PM

Francis Xavier Sosu, Member of Parliament for Madina has initiated a private member’s bill to provide compensation for persons who are unlawfully detained or prosecuted.

Lawyer Francis Sosu

According to the human rights lawyer, there’s no legal regime for such anomalies in the country.

He said the Act will also provide a formula for calculating compensation units on an hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis and provide the circumstances under which a particular compensation must apply as against the already-defined areas of compensation

In the exercise of this discretion, he said, the compensation awarded to persons who have been wrongfully convicted, detained and arrested have not been satisfactory, as compared to the kind of wrong suffered by the person due to the wrongful act committed by actors of the state agencies.

The lawmaker hopes that the compensation act will clearly define what amounts to wrongful arrest, unlawful detention, malicious prosecution and wrongful conviction.

READ THE FULL BILL BELOW