Bail refusal on the basis of public interest and administration of justice in Namibia: A critical appraisal of section 61 of the criminal procedure amendment act 5 of 1991

Namibia has acceded to various international and regional instruments that guarantee rights to personal liberty and the presumption of innocence which values have been incorporated in the Constitution. However, there is a discontent as to how this right to liberty and presumption of innocence are curtailed in the denial of bail based on public interest and administration of justice which terms are not defined in any act of parliament or the Namibian Constitution. The denial of personal liberty is one of the biggest sanctions that government can impose on an individual. However, the right to liberty should not be interpreted in isolation but in the context of general interest of the public. This research concludes by finding that the denial of bail based on the public interest and administration of justice is well founded but the only shortcoming is the lack of certainty as to what constitutes public interest or administration of justice. The research recommends that in order to provide legal certainty, the Namibian Constitution should incorporate the right to bail just like in other jurisdictions and list grounds upon which a person can be denied bail, as this will inform the accused as to which grounds he or she can rely upon in challenging such a judicial decision.