Habeas Corpus
Latin: 'you may have the body'. A prerogative writ requiring a person who is detaining another to bring the detainee before the court to justify the detention. A fundamental safeguard of personal liberty, still recognised as a distinct category of civil legal aid.
Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.
The remedy is old enough that its Latin name has never been replaced with a plain-English equivalent, unlike certiorari or ex parte. Its continuing practical relevance is confirmed by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, which lists it as its own category of publicly funded legal help: 'Civil legal services provided in relation to a writ of habeas corpus ad subjiciendum.'
That statutory cross-heading — simply 'Habeas corpus' — sits within the schedule of the 2012 Act that defines the scope of civil legal aid in England and Wales, alongside other protected categories of case. Parliament's decision to preserve habeas corpus as a discrete, guaranteed head of legal aid, rather than folding it into general categories, reflects its status as a safeguard of last resort against unlawful detention.
Related terms
Official sources
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