LAWS REGARDING THE RIGHTS OF INMATES DURING TRIALS: A CASE STUDY OF PLACES OF DETENTION OF INMATES AND TREATMENT TO INMATES DURING TRIALS

Abstract

          The control of inmates during trials of a court is one step in the judicial process in which the state has the power to detain inmates. A fair judicial process must be consistent with the international standards of the United Nations, In terms of human rights principles, which are the foundation of justice, emphasizing fair trials, independence and impartiality of the courts, the presumption of innocence, the right to equal access to justice, the right to defend one's case and have a lawyer, the right to a public trial, the absence of torture or cruel treatment, the right and freedom to live, and that everyone must be subject to the same law equally, which member states accept and consider as an international standard, which this article. This article studied the measures to control and treat inmates during trials in various aspects. The objective of this study was to clarify the concepts and history of measures concerning the use of places of detention and treatment to inmates during trials in various aspects according to the laws of Thailand, incorporating the practices from Germany, England, and the United States as guidelines. The problem is that the place of detention of inmates during trials is inappropriate for inmates in many ways. Furthermore, with regard to the treatment to inmates during trials, there are restrictions on the rights and freedoms of inmates in terms of food, private clothes and sleeping material, medical care, and the place of detention of inmates during trials. The aforementioned issues should be developed in order to align with the fundamental rights that inmates during trials should be obtained in accordance with universal principles consistent with the minimum standards of the United Nations on the rights of inmates during trials and consistent with principles of law of other countries.

            This article proposes the recommendations respecting the use of places of detention of inmates during trials in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code, Section 89/1, which should be amended to grant the court alone the authority to order the accused or the defendant to stay in other places that are not prison. In addition, as for the treatment to inmates during trials in terms of food, there should be an addition of special dietary as prescribed by physicians for inmates during trials who are ill or elderly with chronic diseases under Section 58, the Corrections Act 2017 Article 79. For the right to receive clothing for inmates during trials according to the Ministry Regulations Sections 69 - 70, there should be an addition of separate clothing for inmates that should not be identical to the standard prison uniforms worn by convicted inmates in moderate class, and there should be an addition of medical examinations to prevent diseases and the right to choose their own physician for the treatment to inmates during trials, who are responsible for the expense themselves, under Section 58, Corrections Act 2017, Category 3 Article 72 - 74. These amendments are proposed to protect the rights and freedom of inmates during trials in Thailand with compliance and modernization aligning with the principles of international standards and legal principles in different countries.