Reform · Initiatives
Reform initiatives
Concrete laws, programmes, and pilots that have changed (or attempted to change) how a country incarcerates. Each is editorial — we cite primary sources where possible.
- Section 479 BNSS — release of long-detained undertrialsactive2024–ongoing
India · pre-trial-detention
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) Section 479, in force from July 2024, requires release of undertrial prisoners who have served one-third of the maximum sentence for non-capital offences (one-half for first-time offenders).
- Expanded indigent defence fundingactive2019–ongoing
United States · pre-trial-detention
California significantly increased state funding for county public defender offices from 2019 onward, including grants tied to early-representation (within 24 hours of arrest) and bail-review advocacy.
- Audiências de Custódia (custody hearings)active2015–ongoing
Brazil · pre-trial-detention
From 2015, every person arrested in Brazil must be presented to a judge within 24 hours, who decides whether pre-trial detention is justified. Replaced a system where remand decisions were made on paper, often after months of incarceration.
- Adversarial criminal justice reformactive2008–2016
Mexico · pre-trial-detention
Constitutional reform replaced Mexico's inquisitorial trial system with an adversarial one featuring oral hearings, the presumption of innocence, and stricter pre-trial-detention criteria. Implemented in stages, completed across all states by 2016.