Habeas Corpus

A legal remedy requiring a detained person to be brought before a court so that the lawfulness of the detention can be examined. The Latin phrase means “you shall have the body”. The remedy became an important safeguard against arbitrary imprisonment, strengthened by the Habeas Corpus Act 1679. Parliament could, however, suspend habeas corpus, temporarily allowing detention without the usual judicial safeguards, particularly during periods of serious political unrest or rebellion.