The question of how undertrial prisoners are treated within national and international legal systems is one of the most pressing yet chronically neglected concerns in the field of criminal justice. Undertrial prisoners, also called pre-trial detainees, are persons who have been arrested and are awaiting trial. They have not been convicted of any rime and yet, in many jurisdictions, they endure conditions equal to or worse than ose faced by convicted prisoners. This article undertakes a comparative legal study of the human rights dimensions of undertrial detention across ten jurisdictions, including dia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Germany, France, Nigeria, Pakistan, ngladesh, and South Africa. Using data from national prison statistics, United Nations reports, and judicial pronouncements, the study demonstrates that the global undertrial population now stands at approximately 30 percent of all incarcerated individuals, with developing nations bearing a disproportionate burden. The paper examines constitutional guarantees, international legal norms, landmark judicial decisions, and systemic reform measures, and ultimately argues for a rights-based, structurally responsive approach to the pre-trial detention crisis.
Sahoo et al. (Fri,) studied this question.
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