ha·be·as corpus

(hā′bē-əs)

1. A writ that a person may seek from a court to obtain immediate release from an unlawful confinement, as when the confinement has occurred through a means that violated the person's constitutional rights.

2. The right of a person to obtain such a writ.

[Middle English, from Medieval Latin habeās corpus, produce the body (from the opening words of the writ) : Latin habeās, second person sing. present subjunctive of habēre, to have + Latin corpus, body.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

habeas corpus

(ˈheɪbɪəs ˈkɔːpəs)

(Law) law a writ ordering a person to be brought before a court or judge, esp so that the court may ascertain whether his detention is lawful

[C15: from the opening of the Latin writ, literally: you may have the body]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ha•be•as cor•pus

(ˈheɪ bi əs ˈkɔr pəs)
n. Law.

1. a writ requiring a person to be brought before a judge or court, esp. to determine whether the person has been detained or imprisoned legally.

2. the right to obtain such a writ as a protection against illegal detention or imprisonment.

[1350–1400; < Latin: literally, have the body (first words of writ)]

habeas corpus

A writ requiring a person to be brought before a court so that it can be decided whether or not the person’s detention is lawful.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	habeas corpus - a writ ordering a prisoner to be brought before a judge writ of habeas corpus judicial writ, writ - (law) a legal document issued by a court or judicial officer law, jurisprudence - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order"
	2.	habeas corpus - the civil right to obtain a writ of habeas corpus as protection against illegal imprisonment civil right - right or rights belonging to a person by reason of citizenship including especially the fundamental freedoms and privileges guaranteed by the 13th and 14th amendments and subsequent acts of Congress including the right to legal and social and economic equality law, jurisprudence - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order"

Translations

habeas corpus

[ˈheɪbɪəsˈkɔːpəs] N (Jur) → hábeas corpus m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

habeas corpus

n (Jur) → Habeaskorpusakte f; to file a writ of habeas corpus → einen Vorführungsbefehl erteilen; the lawyer applied for a writ of habeas corpus → der Rechtsanwalt verlangte, dass sein Klient einem Untersuchungsrichter vorgeführt wurde

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

habeas corpus

[ˈheɪbɪəs ˈkɔːpəs] n (Law) → habeas corpus m inv

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

They made him out to be the Royal arms, the Union-Jack, Magna Charta, John Bull, Habeas Corpus, the Bill of Rights, An Englishman's house is his castle, Church and State, and God save the Queen, all put together.

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The struggle was for chartered rights--for English liberties--for the cause of Algernon Sidney and John Hampden--for trial by jury- -the Habeas Corpus and Magna Charta.

But the English lawyers had decided that Parliament was omnipotent--and Parliament, in its omnipotence, instead of trial by jury and the Habeas Corpus, enacted admiralty courts in England to try Americans for offences charged against them as committed in America; instead of the privileges of Magna Charta, nullified the charter itself of Massachusetts Bay; shut up the port of Boston; sent armies and navies to keep the peace and teach the colonies that John Hampden was a rebel and Algernon Sidney a traitor.

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The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

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"The time of the assizes soon came, and I was removed by habeas corpus to Oxford, where I expected certain conviction and condemnation; but, to my great surprize, none appeared against me, and I was, at the end of the sessions, discharged for want of prosecution.

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The trial by jury in criminal cases, aided by the habeas corpus act, seems therefore to be alone concerned in the question.

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HABEAS CORPUS. A writ by which a man may be taken out of jail when confined for the wrong crime.

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"Yes," said Arthur--"the birthright of British boys old and young, as habeas corpus and trial by jury are of British men."

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Too much red tape, habeas corpus and that sort of thing.

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The Not-So-Great Writ: Habeas Corpus and Slavery, 1789-1862.

"The tissue of the structure": habeas corpus and the Great Writ's paradox of power and liberty

In the wake of Boumediene, there has been a flood of litigation in which detainees seek the writ of habeas corpus challenging their detention as unlawful.

Indefinite detention after Boumediene: judicial trailblazing in uncharted and unfamiliar territory

The vice president also said that she does not see any present circumstances that would warrant the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus.

Robredo slams critics who paint her as 'eager' to replace Duterte