CAP. 90 Prisons [Rev. 2012] CHAPTER 90 PRISONS ACT [Date of assent: 27th December, 1962.] [Date of commencement: 1st February, 1963.] An Act of Parliament to consolidate and amend the law relating to prisons; to provide for youth corrective training centres, extra mural penal employment; to provide for the organisation, discipline, powers and duties of prison officers; and for matters incidental thereto and connected therewith [Act No. 49 of 1962, Act No. 8 of 1963, Act No. 23 of 1963, L.N. 124/1964, L.N. 374/1964, Act No. 21 of 1966, Act No. 8 of 1968, Act No. 3 of 1969, Act No. 10 of 1969, L.N. 59 of 1970, Act No. 25 of 1971, Act No. 10 of 1981, Act No. 10 of 1983, Act No. 18 of 1986, Act No. 14 of 1991, Act No. 10 of 1998.] PART I – PRELIMINARY 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Prisons Act. 2. Interpretation In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires— “aggravated prison offence” means an offence declared to be such by rules made under this Act; “appellant prisoner” means any convicted criminal prisoner who is detained in a prison as a result of a conviction which is the subject matter of an appeal which has been entered or lodged but the decision in regard to which has not been given; “Assistant Commissioner” means an Assistant Commissioner of Prisons; “civil prisoner” means any prisoner other than a criminal prisoner; “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Prisons; “convicted criminal prisoner” means any criminal prisoner under sentence of a court or a court martial, and includes a person detained in prison under sections 162 to 167 (both inclusive) of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 75); “court” means any court or authority entitled to pass a sentence in a criminal case or to order a person to be detained in custody in any case; “criminal prisoner” means any person duly committed to custody under the writ, warrant or order of any court exercising criminal jurisdiction or by order of a court martial; “Deputy Commissioner” means the Deputy Commissioner of Prisons; “deserter” means a prison officer who absents himself from duty without reasonable cause for a period of twenty-one days or more; [Issue 1] P30 - 7