The Fundamentals Of International Human Rights Treaty Law

The Fundamentals of International Human Rights Treaty Law International Studies in Human Rights Volume 106 The titles in this series are listed at the end of this volume. The Fundamentals of International Human Rights Treaty Law By Dr. Bertrand G. Ramcharan LI.M (LSE), Ph.D. (LSE) Barrister-at-Law (Lincoln’s Inn) Distinguished Fellow, Human Rights Law Centre, University of Nottingham Previously: First Swiss Chair of Human Rights, Geneva Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies; Chancellor of the University of Guyana UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (A · I, 2003-2004) LEIDEN • BOSTON 2011 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ramcharan, B. G. The fundamentals of international human rights treaty law / By Bertrand G. Ramcharan. p. cm. — (International Studies in Human rights ; 106) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-17608-9 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Human rights. 2. Treaties. I. Title. K3240.R3556 2011 341.4’8026—dc22 2010050173 ISSN 0924-4751 ISBN 978 90 04 17608 9 Copyright 2011 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. “The Convention is a living instrument which…must be interpreted in light of present-day conditions” The European Court of Human Rights1 “…(I)ts function is to determine whether the requirements of a given Convention are being met, whatever the economic and social conditions existing in a given country. Subject only to any derogations which are expressly permitted by the Convention itself, these requirements remain constant and uniform for all countries. In carrying out this work, the Committee is guided by the standards laid down in the Convention alone, mindful, however, of the fact that the modes of their implementation may be different in different States. These are international standards, and the manner in which their implementation is evaluated must be uniform and must not be affected by concepts derived from any particular social or economic system.” ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations2 “Treaty-based human rights petitions procedures take the State down from the pedestal of sovereignty to the level of the individual. One of their great merits is the principle of equality of arms.” Judge Jakob Th. Möller3 2 August, 2009 “The production, testing, possession, deployment and use of nuclear weapons should be prohibited and recognized as crimes against humanity.” Human Rights Committee4 1 2 3 4 Tryer v. the United Kingdom, Judgment of 25 April, 1978, Series A No. 26, pp. 15-16, para. 31; the Soering judgment, p. 40. para. 102; Lozidou v. Turkey, judgment of 23 March, 1995, Series A. No. 310, pp. 27-27, para. 71. International Labour Conference, 63rd Session, 1977, Report III, Part 4A, Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, ILO, Geneva, 1977, pp. 10-11, para. 31. Author (with A. de Zayas), United Nations Human Rights Committee Case Law 19772008. N.P. Engel, 2009. General Comment No. 14: Article 6 (Right t