Port au Prince Haiti

When you are placed under arrest, police officers are required to let you know that you have the right to receive advice from a lawyer.

You cannot be kept under arrest for more than 48 hours unless you are taken to see a judge, and the judge allows the 48 hours to be extended.

In Haiti, if the following happens, you are likely under arrest under the law:

• an officer handcuffs you;
• an officer forcibly holds you down; or
• an officer puts you into the back seat of a police car.

Haitian Constitution:

• Article 24-3: “b. Legal notice must be given and a copy of the order must be left with the accused at the time of its execution;”
• Article 24-3: “For such an order to be carried out, the following requirements must be met: a. It must formally state the reason in Creole and in French for the arrest or detention and the provision of the law that provides for punishment of the act charged, b. Legal notice must be given and a copy of the order must be left with the accused at the time of its execution;”
• Article 24-3: “c. The accursed must be notified of his right to be assisted by counsel at all phases of the investigation of the case up to the final judgment;”
• Article 26: “No one may be kept under arrest more than forty-eight (48) hours unless he has appeared before a judge asked to rule on the legality of the arrest and the judge has confirmed the arrest by a well-founded decision.”

If you are arrested, you can ask for and call a lawyer to help you when you are being questioned and during the whole investigation process.

Haitian Constitution:

• Article 24-3: “c. The accused must be notified of his right to be assisted by counsel at all phases of the investigation of the case up to the final judgment;”
• Article 25-1: “No one may be interrogated without his attorney or a witness of his choice being present.” 

1. Call a lawyer. If you don’t know any lawyers, you can look for one in the list of attorneys linked below. In the meantime, you should ask a witness (a family member, a neighbour, etc) to stay with you while you are being questioned by the police.
   
   It is important that you call or manage to get a lawyer as soon as possible so that you are given advice on your situation, your rights, on what will happen and what you should do as your next steps. If possible, make sure to get a criminal lawyer, as criminal lawyers are the most familiar with the criminal system and with what police do.

2. You have the right to remain silent. If possible, do not say anything until you have seen your lawyer who will explain to you the situation, and will give you advice on how to act and what to say to the police officers during questioning.


3. Unless your lawyer says it's okay, do not sign any document if you cannot carefully read and understand it. Do not sign anything if you disagree with what it says or if it does not list what happened correctly or if the police said or told you something that is different to what the document says. If you disagree with anything written in the document, it should be corrected before you sign it.


4. Depending on whether your lawyer asks you to do something different, you should ask to appear before a judge within 48 hours after your arrest.

Haitian Constitution:

• Article 25-1: “No one may be interrogated without his attorney or a witness of his choice being present.”
• Article 26: “No one may be kept under arrest more than forty-eight (48) hours unless he has appeared before a judge asked to rule on the legality of the arrest and the judge has confirmed the arrest by a well-founded decision.”

Haitian Constitution:

• Article 25: “Any unnecessary force or restraint in the apprehension of a person or in keeping him under arrest, or any psychological pressure or physical brutality, especially during interrogation, is forbidden.”
• Article 25-1: “No one may be interrogated without his attorney or a witness of his choice being present.”

Police officers are not allowed to discriminate against people when carrying out their roles and responsibilities. The law makes it clear that there are punishments for discrimination based on race.

If you feel like your rights have been violated (meaning not respected) by the police, including where you have been discriminated against or suffered racism, you can bring a complaint to the local or national police authorities (this includes the local sergeant, the police chief, the departmental director, or the inspector general).

The complaint should clearly state the facts behind the complaint and in as much detail as possible.

After you have made a complaint, you can get a certificate (which proves you made a complaint) by contacting the police station where the complaint was made and the date on which you made the complaint.

If you don't want to report the complaint directly to the police authority, you can contact the The Office of Citizen Protection (OCP) or the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH). Their contact details are below.

Office of Citizen Protection (OCP):

• Address: Ave. John Brown, Lalue, Port-au-Prince, Haiti; 381, Route de Bourdon, Port-au-Prince, Haïti
• Email: info@opchaiti.com
• Telephone: +509 29991212145

Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH):

• Address: 666 Dorchester Avenue; Boston, MA 02127
• Email: info@ijdh.org
• Telephone: (617) 652-0876

Article 18 of the Haitian Constitution: “Haitians shall be equal before the law, subject to the special advantages conferred on native-born Haitians who have never renounced their nationality.”

Article 50 of the Criminal Procedure Code: "Anyone who claims to have been injured by a crime or an offense, may file a complaint and take legal action before the investigating judge, either from the place of the crime or misdemeanour, or from the place of residence of the accused, or from the place or it can be found."

Criminal Code:

• Article 1: “Any fact of racial discrimination or behaviour which violates the fundamental rights of man, occurring because of his race, his colour, his appearance to an ethnic group, is an offense punishable under the terms of the following provisions.”
• Article 2: “racial discrimination [is] any distinction, exclusion, restriction, any ground based on race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin intended to compromise or destroy the recognition, enjoyment , the exercise and equality of human rights and their fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social and cultural fields, as well as in any other field of public life. ”
• Art. 3: “Racial non-discrimination is an absolute rule and of public order.”

The Haitian Constitution sets out a clear process which the police must follow when making an arrest. If you have been stopped by the police you should calmly ask, "do you have a warrant authorising this search?". If the police officer who is trying to search you says "no" or does not confirm that they have the authority to search you, you should say "I do not consent to this search".

Even if you refuse to consent (give permission), officers may still search you, whether they have authority to search or not (whether they are allowed to or not). It is very common for the police force to not follow the correct procedures when carrying out searches or detaining individuals.  

It is very important that you stay calm. You should continue to say "I do not consent to this search", but for your safety, you should not physically resist the search or touch the police officer.

If you are safely able to, write down the officer’s name and badge number and as much other helpful information as possible, including the patrol car number, the name and phone numbers of any other people who were around and who could be witnesses, and any pictures of, or medical records, about any injuries you suffer.

You may wish to consider filing a complaint. The complaint should state the facts in as much detail as reasonably possible. You can take the complaint to the local or national police authorities (this includes the local sergeant, the police chief, the departmental director, or the inspector general).

After you have made a complaint, you can get a certificate (which proves you made a complaint) by contacting the police station where the complaint was made and the date on which you made the complaint.

If you don't want to report the complaint directly to the police authority, you can contact the The Office of Citizen Protection (OCP) or the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH). Their contact details are below.

Office of Citizen Protection (OCP):

• Address: Ave. John Brown, Lalue, Port-au-Prince, Haiti; 381, Route de Bourdon, Port-au-Prince, Haïti
• Email: info@opchaiti.com
• Telephone: +509 29991212145

Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH):

• Address: 666 Dorchester Avenue; Boston, MA 02127
• Email: info@ijdh.org
• Telephone: (617) 652-0876

Legal Source:

Haitian Constitution:

• Article 24-1: “No one may be prosecuted, arrested or detained except in the cases determined by law and in the manner it prescribes.”
• Article 24-2: “Except where the perpetrator of a crime is caught in the act, no one may be arrested or detained other than by written order of a legally competent official.”
• Article 24-3: “a. It must formally state the reason in Creole and in French for the arrest or detention and the provision of the law that provides for punishment of the act charged.”
• Article 24-3: “b. Legal notice must be given and a copy of the order must be left with the accused at the time of its execution;”
• Article 24-3: “For such an order to be carried out, the following requirements must be met: a. It must formally state the reason in Creole and in French for the arrest or detention and the provision of the law that provides for punishment of the act charged, b. Legal notice must be given and a copy of the order must be left with the accused at the time of its execution;”
• Article 24-3: “c. The accused must be notified of his right to be assisted by counsel at all phases of the investigation of the case up to the final judgment;”
• Article 24-3: “d. Except where the perpetrator of a crime is caught in the act, no arrest by warrant and no search may take place between six (6) p.m. and six (6) a.m.;”
• Article 24-3: “e. Responsibility for an offense is personal, and no one may be arrested in the place of another.”
• Article 26: “No one may be kept under arrest more than forty-eight (48) hours unless he has appeared before a judge asked to rule on the legality of the arrest and the judge has confirmed the arrest by a well-founded decision.”

National Police Act:

• Article 10: “Except in cases of flagrante delicto, the authorities and members of the police may not make any arrests, searches or home visits except under the conditions and methods provided for by law and in particular the Code of Criminal Procedure”.
•  Article 38: “[IGPN] function is to:
  • receive complaints and carry out investigations relating to human rights violations and any other abuses that could be accused of police officers;
  • issue an acknowledgment of receipt relating to all complaints brought by a citizen against a member of the National Police."

If you are a victim of a crime, you can file a police report or register a complaint at the nearest commissariat. If possible, crimes should be reported in the jurisdiction (city/area) in which it happened and to the police that operate in that area, and as soon as possible. Jurisdiction can include the type of case as well as the location of the incident.

The Direction Centrale de la Police Judiciaire (DCPJ) or Haitian National Police (HNP) are responsible for investigating crimes. If you are a victim you should expect forensic evidence to be collected (fingerprints, photographs, etc.). The HNP investigator in charge of the case will be the main contact for the victim to get information about the progress of the investigation.

When making the complaint, you should state the facts of the crime to which you are a victim clearly and in as much detail as possible.

You do not have to confess to a crime and you are not required to report a crime that you have witnessed or heard about, or even been a victim of, to the police.

The US Embassy has provided the following helpful guidance for reporting crimes in Haiti and the trial procedure: Victims of Crime | U.S. Embassy in Haiti

(DISCLAIMER: while informational, it is important to note that this is a non-legal source and should be referenced with this disclaimer in mind)

If you are arrested by the police, stay calm and ask for the details of your arrest (why you were arrested and if they have a warrant) from the arresting officer and ask for a lawyer. It is not a good idea to answer police questions without speaking to a lawyer (if you can get one).

Haitian law does not allow people to be arrested or detained without a reason. However, the law does not allow you to challenge your arrest/ detention in court. Instead, the Haitian constitution makes it clear that the police (or some other authority) can only arrest a person if they are caught commiting a cirme or doing something that is against the law, or if they have a warrant.

A warrant is a document which is usually given by the government or a court and it orders police or some other group to arrest you (or search you, depending on what the warrant says)

Once you are arrested, the police have to bring you to a court and before a judge within 48 hours of when you were arrested. If no charges have been brought against you within the 48 hour time limit, then you must be released, unless a judge allows for a longer time for detention (on top of the 48 hours).

It is a common problem in Haiti for individuals to be held in pre-trial detention for a long period of time and the police have often ignored the constitutional requirement to bring persons they have arrested before a judge within 48 hours. The Office of Citizen Protection (OCP), Haiti’s independent human rights monitoring body, has been helping people who have been detained (kept in police custody) for longer than the 48 hours without formal charges being brought. If you have been detained for longer than 48 hours, and this has not been allowed by a judge, you should try to get help from a lawyer to contact the OCP using the contact information below.

Office of Citizen Protection (OCP):

• Address: 145, Ave. John Brown, Lalue, Port-au-Prince, Haiti; 381, Route de Bourdon, Port-au-Prince, Haïti
• Email: info@opchaiti.com
• Telephone: +509 29991212

Haitian Constitution:

• Article 24: “Individual liberty is guaranteed and protected by the State.”
• Article 24-1: “No one may be prosecuted, arrested or detained except in the cases determined by law and in the manner it prescribes.”
• Article 25: “Any unnecessary force or restraint in the apprehension of a person or in keeping him under arrest, or any psychological pressure or physical brutality, especially during interrogation, is forbidden.”
• Article 25-1: “No one may be interrogated without his attorney or a witness of his choice being present.”
• Article 26: “No one may be kept under arrest more than forty-eight (48) hours unless he has appeared before a judge asked to rule on the legality of the arrest and the judge has confirmed the arrest by a well-founded decision;”
• Article 26-2: “If the arrest is judged to be illegal, the judge shall order the immediate release of the arrested person and that order shall be enforceable immediately, regardless of any appeal to a higher court or the supreme court for an order forbidding enforcement of the judgment.”

The police are only allowed to use force if it is strictly necessary and the person they are trying to arrest is resisting arrest. Excessive or unnecessary force is not allowed. Force is considered to be excessive or unnecessary if it is not something any/every officer would do in that situation.

If police are physical with you, stay calm and try not to resist or fight back. Any resistance by you may result in the police increasing their use of force on you and can increase the risk of you getting hurt.

Legal Source:

Article 25 of the Haitian Constitution: “Any unnecessary force or restraint in the apprehension of a person or in keeping him under arrest, or any psychological pressure or physical brutality, especially during interrogation, is forbidden”.

You should always contact a lawyer before making any statements to anyone in a criminal case or investigation. This applies even if you are told that (i) police officers only want to question you and/or (ii) you are only a witness.

You have the right to have a lawyer present during questioning, even if you and your family cannot afford one. There are a list of lawyers that you can contact: List-of-Attorneys-.pdf (usembassy.gov)

DISCLAIMER: We did not put this list together so we cannot confirm that the information is up-to-date, or confirm the abilities/experience of the lawyers listed.

Legal Source 

Haitian Constitution:

• Article 25-1: “No one may be interrogated without his attorney or a witness of his choice being present”.
• Article 26: “No one may be kept under arrest more than forty-eight (48) hours unless he has appeared before a judge asked to rule on the legality of the arrest and the judge has confirmed the arrest by a well-founded decision”.