Arrest Definition: The detainment or restraint of a person or thing for the purposes of determining legal rights as regards a thing, or suspicion of criminal activity as regards a person. Criminal Law Halsbury's Laws of England defines an arrest as: "Arrest consists of the actual seizure or touching of a person’s body with a view to his detention. The mere pronouncing of words of arrest is not an arrest, unless the person sought to be arrested submits to the process and goes with the arresting officer." These words were adopted in Canada in R v Whitfield (1970). In the United States, the Supreme Court, in the 1968 case of Terry v Ohio, used these words: "An arrest is the initial stage of a criminal prosecution. It is intended to vindicate society's interest in having its laws obeyed, and it is inevitably accompanied by future interference with the individual's freedom of movement, whether or not trial or conviction ultimately follows." Maritime Law The 1999 International Convention on Arrest of Ships defines the term as: "... any detention or restriction on removal of a ship by order of a Court to secure a maritime claim, but does not include the seizure of a ship in execution or satisfaction of a judgment or other enforceable instrument." References 1999 International Convention on Arrest of Ships published at http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/imo99d6.pdf Holgate-Mohammed v Duke 1984 A.C. 437 R v Whitfield, 1970 S.C.R. 46; cited with approval in R v Asante-Mensah, 2003 S.C.C. 38 Terry v Ohio 392 U.S. 1 (1968), at page 26. Categories & Topics: Criminal Law Dictionary Maritime & Waterways Law Dictionary Find you are constantly looking up definitions? Try our search provider (works in most modern browsers) If you find an error or omission in Duhaime's Legal Dictionary, or if you have legal term suggestion, we'd love to hear from you!