Writ of Habeas Corpus
In English speaking democracies, since the thirteenth century signing of the Magna Carta, captives were able to call upon the writ of habeas corpus — literally "you should have the body." This legal procedure required the state to show that there was a meaningful, legal justification for their detention.
Read more about this topic: Extrajudicial Detention
Famous quotes containing the words writ and/or corpus:
“I went to the Garden of Love,
And saw what I never had seen:
A Chapel was built in the midst,
Where I used to play on the green.
And the gates of this Chapel were shut,
And ‘Thou shalt not’ writ over the door;”
—William Blake (1757–1827)
“By that bedes side ther kneleth a may,
And she wepeth both nyght and day.
And by that beddes side ther stondith a ston,
‘Corpus Christi’wretyn theron.”
—Unknown. Corpus Christi Carol (l. 11–14)