Introduction

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clooney Amal ◽  
Webb Philippa
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Fair Trial ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Civil And Political Rights ◽  
The Right ◽  
Preparatory Work

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the right to a fair trial. An unfair trial can be devastating to an individual defendant—removing their liberty, destroying their reputation, even taking away their life. Unfair trials are also damaging to entire societies as they are used to undermine democracy and oppress minorities. As such, the right to a fair trial is one of the most fundamental components of human rights. Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is the starting point and organising principle of the right to a fair trial, but the scope and content of the right is not always easy to discern given the multitude of international-law sources that define it. Understanding the right to a fair trial may require reference not only to its interpretation by courts, treaty bodies, rapporteurs, experts, and scholars, but also the preparatory work of the treaty and the circumstances of its conclusion.

scholarly journals Extraterritorial application of the right to life on the high sea . Commentary to the Views adopted by the Human Rights Committee of 27 January 2021, A.S., D.I., O.I. and G.D. against Italy, Communication No. 3042/2017

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bartosz Pacholski
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Right To Life ◽  
Rescue Operation ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Civil And Political Rights ◽  
The Right

The subject matter of this commentary, which instigates the Views of the Human Rights Committee of 27 January 2021, is the protection of one of the fundamental human rights – the right to life. The Committee, as an authority appointed to oversee compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, had to decide on the issue of Italy’s responsibility for failing to provide assistance to a boat in distress, even if the area in which the vessel was located was not within the territory of this state and other acts of international law attribute the responsibility for executing the rescue operation to a third country. According to the Committee’s views, which applied extraterritorial approach to the protection of the right to life, whenever states have the opportunity to take action for the protection of human rights they should do everything possible in a given situation to help people in need.

Freedom of Speech in International Law

2021 ◽  
pp. 192-212
Author(s):  
Michael Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Freedom Of Speech ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Civil And Political Rights ◽  
The Right ◽  
Domestic Law

This chapter traces the broad contours of the right to freedom of speech as it has evolved in international law, principally under Article 19(2) of the 1996 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR or ‘the Covenant’). Any speech protective principles deriving from the international jurisprudence are qualified by the following factors: the contextual contingency of the value of speech, the inherently limited reach of international scrutiny, the changing nature of the marketplace, and emerging forms of censorship. The chapter then outlines the key human rights treaty protections for freedom of speech, before further exploring the scope of the right. It examines the permissible grounds for speech restriction, highlighting two contested categories of speech—namely, incitement to hatred and glorification of terrorism—where international law not only concedes the low value of such speech, but specifically mandates its prohibition in domestic law. States that introduce broadly framed speech restrictions may claim to be acting in satisfaction of this prohibitory requirement. In consequence, the intensity of any ensuing international scrutiny will inevitably be substantially reduced.

14 Remedies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clooney Amal ◽  
Webb Philippa
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Fair Trial ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Financial Compensation ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
Civil And Political Rights ◽  
The Right ◽  
Miscarriage Of Justice

This chapter examines the right to a remedy for fair trial violations. The right to a remedy is recognised in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and regional human rights treaties, many of which also recognise a specific right to compensation when there has been a miscarriage of justice. Financial compensation and declaratory relief are awarded most frequently although some international bodies also regularly award more far-reaching remedies, such as the release of the defendant, the quashing of a conviction, a reduction in the sentence, a retrial of the defendant, or reforms to legislation. This chapter compares the practice of international and regional courts and human rights bodies and comments on states’ record of compliance with such remedies. It concludes that greater attention should be paid to this issue by practitioners and decision-makers at international bodies.

The Right to a Fair Trial under Article 14 of the ICCPR

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Fair Trial ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Criminal Courts ◽  
National Courts ◽  
Treaty Interpretation ◽  
The Right ◽  
Preparatory Work

This is the companion book to The Right to a Fair Trial in International Law. As we observe in that book, understanding the right to a fair trial may require reference not only to its interpretation by courts, treaty bodies, special rapporteurs, experts, and scholars, but also to the preparatory work of the treaty (travaux préparatoires) and the circumstances of its conclusion. The travaux are a supplementary means of interpretation, used to confirm the meaning resulting from the application of principles of treaty interpretation or to determine the meaning when the interpretation ‘leaves the meaning ambiguous or obscure; or leads to a result which is manifestly absurd or unreasonable’. For this reason, each chapter of The Right to a Fair Trial in International Law contains detailed analysis of the relevant treaty provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), including the travaux. More than 50 years have passed since the ICCPR was opened for signature. The right to a fair trial remains one of the most fundamental rights, and its promotion and protection is as vital as ever. For more than a half-century, the ICCPR has been interpreted by international and regional human rights bodies as well as national courts, legislators, practitioners and academics. Its terms and basic tenets are reflected in national constitutions and laws and the statutes of international criminal courts. Different views on what is conveyed by the treaty’s language are inevitable. It is hoped that this publication will assist with understanding what the drafters intended.

scholarly journals Theoretical and practical aspects regarding solving civil cases in an optimal and predictable time

2019 ◽  
pp. 11-19
Author(s):  
MĂDĂLINA DINU
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Fair Trial ◽  
The Other ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Constitutional Level ◽  
Procedure Code ◽  
Civil And Political Rights ◽  
The One ◽  
The Right

The existence of a fair trial implies the granting of guarantees to the litigant in order to ensure compliance with the principle enshrined, first and foremost, at the constitutional level, but also in the Civil Procedure Code, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on civil and political rights. The fair trial involves, on the one hand, the right of the litigant to a (independent and impartial) court, and on the other hand, the resolution of the case in an optimal and predictable time. In order to respect the optimal and predictable time frame for solving a civil case, the legislator has established a series of obligations, terms and penalties in case of non-compliance by the participants in the trial, but also by the court invested in solving the case.

The Economic and Political Determinants of Human (Including Health) Rights

1978 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicente Navarro
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Individual Property ◽  
Socioeconomic Rights ◽  
Civil And Political Rights ◽  
Fair Wages ◽  
The Right ◽  
The U.S

This paper presents an analysis and critique of the U.S. government's current emphasis on human rights; and (a) its limited focus on only some civil and political components of the original U.N. Declaration of Human Rights, and (b) its disregard for economic and social rights such as the rights to work, fair wages, health, education, and social security. The paper discusses the reasons for that limited focus and argues that, contrary to what is widely presented in the media and academe: (1) civil and political rights are highly restricted in the U.S.; (2) those rights are further restricted in the U.S. when analyzed in their social and economic dimensions; (3) civil and political rights are not independent of but rather intrinsically related to and dependent on the existence of socioeconomic rights; (4) the definition of the nature and extension of human rights in their civil, political, social, and economic dimensions is not universal, but rather depends on the pattern of economic and political power relations particular to each society; and (5) the pattern of power relations in the U.S. society and the western system of power, based on the right to individual property and its concomitant class structure and relations, is incompatible with the full realization of human rights in their economic, social, political, and civil dimensions. This paper further indicates that U.S. financial and corporate capital, through its overwhelming influence over the organs of political power in the U.S. and over international bodies and agencies, is primarily responsible for the denial of the human rights of the U.S. population and many populations throughout the world as well.

ACCIDENT AND DESIGN: RECOGNISING VICTIMS OF AGGRESSION IN INTERNATIONAL LAW

2021 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-132
Author(s):  
Shane Darcy
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Future Application ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Civil And Political Rights

AbstractInternational law has not traditionally recognised individuals as victims of the crime of aggression. Recent developments may precipitate a departure from this approach. The activation of the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court over the crime of aggression opens the way for the future application of the Court's regime of victim participation and reparation in the context of prosecutions for this crime. The determination by the United Nations Human Rights Committee in General Comment No. 36 that any deprivation of life resulting from an act of aggression violates Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights serves to recognise a previously overlooked class of victims. This article explores these recent developments, by discussing their background, meaning and implications for international law and the rights of victims.

The Right to Enter One’s Own Country: The Conflict between the Jurisprudence of the Human Rights Committee and the Travaux Préparatoires of Article 12(4) of the iccpr

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-123
Author(s):  
Jamil Ddamulira Mujuzi
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Civil And Political Rights ◽  
The Right

Abstract Article 12(4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (iccpr) provides that ‘[n]o one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country.’ The jurisprudence of the Human Rights Committee shows that Committee members have often disagreed on the question of whether the right under Article 12(4) is reserved for citizens only or it can be claimed by non-citizens who consider the countries in which they were born or they have lived for longer periods as their own. In its earlier case law, the Committee held that Article 12(4) is applicable to nationals only. Since 1999, when General Comment No.27 was adopted, the Committee has moved towards extending the right under Article 12(4) to non-nationals. Its latest case law appears to have supported the Committee’s position that Article 12(4) is applicable to non-nationals. Central to both majority and minority decisions in which the Committee has dealt with Article 12(4), is whether the travaux préparatoires of Article 12(4) support either view. This article relies on the travaux préparatoires of Article 12(4) to argue that it does not support the view that Article 12(4) is applicable to non-nationals.

How to Think about Advocacy

2020 ◽  
pp. 34-56
Author(s):  
Michelle Jurkovich
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Alternative Model ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Right To Food ◽  
Civil And Political Rights ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Right ◽  
Spiral Model

This chapter focuses on contemporary international anti-hunger advocacy, which describes the nature of contemporary campaigns across top international anti-hunger organizations. It introduces dominant human rights models, namely Margaret E. Keck and Kathryn Sikkink's “boomerang model” and Thomas Risse, Stephen C. Ropp, and Kathryn Sikkink's “spiral model.” It also provides an alternative model of advocacy, the “buckshot model,” which describes and explains advocacy around hunger and the right to food. The chapter identifies the hidden assumptions behind dominant human rights models and explores their limitations by using the hunger case to set up a contrast with more-often-studied civil and political rights campaigns. It reviews interviews with international anti-hunger activists that were completed by 2015, which reflected contemporary campaigns and efforts until 2014.

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