English▸ noun [mass noun] Law a writ requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into court, especially to secure the person's release unless lawful grounds are shown for their detention:
his application for habeas corpus
a writ of habeas corpus.
▪ the legal right to apply for a habeas corpus writ:
Europe was first to introduce habeas corpus and the jury system.
– ORIGIN late Middle English: Latin, literally ‘you shall have the body (in court)’.