Male captus, bene detentus (wrongly captured, properly detained) is a legal doctrine, according to which the fact that a person may have been wrongly or unfairly arrested, will not prejudice a rightful detention or trial under due process. Practice There is state practice in support of the doctrine,Attorney-General v. Eichmann, 36 I.L.R. 5 (1961)Frisbie v. Collins, 342 U.S. 519 (1952)United States ex el Lujan v. Gengler, 510 F.2d 62 (1975)United States v. Alvarez-Machain, 504 U.S. 655 (1992) as well as contrary state practice.State v. Ebrahim, 21 I.L.M. 888United States v. Toscanino, 500 F.2d 267 (1974)United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez 939 F.2d 1341 (1990)Connelly v. Director of Public Prosecutions, A.C. 1254 (1964)Bennett v. Horseferry Road Magistrates' Court, 3 All E.R. 138 (1993) In one of its cases the U.S. Supreme Court held that where a person from another country is apprehended by irregular means, the right to set up as defense the unlawful manner by which he was brought to a court belongs "to the Government from whose territory he was wrongfully taken".Ker v. Illinois, 119 U.S. 436 (1886), recently quoted by Office of Legal Counsel, Memo on Venezuela Maduro capture, December 23, 2025, p. 18.
Further reading Paulussen, C. Y. M. (2010): Male Captus Bene Detentus? Surrendering suspects to the International Criminal Court. Intersentia.
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