Time: Tue Aug 19 12:15:42 1997
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Tue, 19 Aug 1997 12:08:33 -0700 (MST)
Date: Tue, 19 Aug 1997 14:39:44 -0700
To: Charles Pixley <pix108@frontiernet.net>
From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in toolbar]
Subject: SLS: International Covenant (1 of 2)
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
The States Parties to the present Covenant,
Considering that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed in
the Charter of the United Nations, recognition of the inherent
dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of
the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace
in the world,
Recognizing that these rights derive from the inherent dignity of
the human person,
Recognizing that, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, the ideal of free human beings enjoying civil and
political freedom and freedom from fear and want can only be
achieved if conditions are created whereby everyone may enjoy his
civil and political rights, as well as his economic, social and
cultural rights,
Considering the obligation of States under the Charter of the
United Nations to promote universal respect for and observance
of, human rights and freedoms,
Realizing that the individual, having duties to other individuals
and to the community to which he belongs, is under a
responsibility to strive for the promotion and observance of the
rights recognized in the present Covenant,
Agree upon the following articles:
PART I
Article 1
1. All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue
of that right they freely determine their political status and
freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
2. All peoples may, for their own ends, freely dispose of their
natural wealth and resources without prejudice to any obligations
arising out of international economic co-operation, based upon
the principle of mutual benefit, and international law. In no
case may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence.
3. The States Parties to the present Covenant, including those
having responsibility for the administration of Non-Self-
Governing and Trust Territories, shall promote the realization of
the right of self-determination, and shall respect that right, in
conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United
Nations.
International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights: Page 1 of 20
PART II
Article 2
1. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to
respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and
subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present
Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour,
sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or
social origin, property, birth or other status.
2. Where not already provided for by existing legislative or
other measures, each State Party to the present Covenant
undertakes to take the necessary steps, in accordance with its
constitutional processes and with the provisions of the present
Covenant, to adopt such legislative or other measures as may be
necessary to give effect to the rights recognized in the present
Covenant.
3. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes:
(a) To ensure that any person whose rights or freedoms as herein
recognized are violated shall have an effective remedy,
notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by
persons acting in an official capacity;
(b) To ensure that any person claiming such a remedy shall have
his right thereto determined by competent judicial,
administrative or legislative authorities, or by any other
competent authority provided for by the legal system of the
State, and to develop the possibilities of judicial remedy;
(c) To ensure that the competent authorities shall enforce such
remedies when granted.
Article 3
The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure
the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil
and political rights set forth in the present Covenant.
Article 4
1. In time of public emergency which threatens the life of the
nation and the existence of which is officially proclaimed, the
States Parties to the present Covenant may take measures
derogating from their obligations under the present Covenant to
the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation,
provided that such measures are not inconsistent with their other
obligations under international law and do not involve
discrimination solely on the ground of race, colour, sex,
language, religion or social origin.
2. No derogation from articles 6, 7, 8 (paragraphs 1 and 2),
11, 15, 16 and 18 may be made under this provision.
International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights: Page 2 of 20
3. Any State Party to the present Covenant availing itself of
the right of derogation shall immediately inform the other States
Parties to the present Covenant, through the intermediary of the
Secretary-General of the United Nations, of the provisions from
which it has derogated and of the reasons by which it was
actuated. A further communication shall be made, through the
same intermediary, on the date on which it terminates such
derogation.
Article 5
1. Nothing in the present Covenant may be interpreted as
implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in
any activity or perform any act aimed at the destruction of any
of the rights and freedoms recognized herein or at their
limitation to a greater extent than is provided for in the
present Covenant.
2. There shall be no restriction upon or derogation from any of
the fundamental human rights recognized or existing in any State
Party to the present Covenant pursuant to law, conventions,
regulations or custom on the pretext that the present Covenant
does not recognize such rights or that it recognizes them to a
lesser extent.
PART III
Article 6
1. Every human being has the inherent right to life. This
right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily
deprived of his life.
2. In countries which have not abolished the death penalty,
sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes
in accordance with the law in force at the time of the commission
of the crime and not contrary to the provisions of the present
Covenant and to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment
of the Crime of Genocide. This penalty can only be carried out
pursuant to a final judgement rendered by a competent court.
3. When deprivation of life constitutes the crime of genocide,
it is understood that nothing in this article shall authorize any
State Party to the present Covenant to derogate in any way from
any obligation assumed under the provisions of the Convention on
the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
4. Anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek
pardon or commutation of the sentence. Amnesty, pardon or
commutation of the sentence of death may be granted in all cases.
5. Sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed
by persons below eighteen years of age and shall not be carried
out on pregnant women.
International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights: Page 3 of 20
6. Nothing in this article shall be invoked to delay or to
prevent the abolition of capital punishment by any State Party to
the present Covenant.
Article 7
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall
be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific
experimentation.
Article 8
1. No one shall be held in slavery; slavery and the slave-trade
in all their forms shall be prohibited.
2. No one shall be held in servitude.
3. (a) No one shall be required to perform forced or
compulsory labour
(b) Paragraph 3 (a) shall not be held to preclude, in
countries where imprisonment with hard labour may be
imposed as a punishment for a crime, the performance of
hard labour in pursuance of a sentence to such
punishment by a competent court.
(c) For the purpose of this paragraph the term "forced or
compulsory labour" shall not include:
(i) Any work or service, not referred to in sub-
paragraph (b), normally required of a person who
is under detention in consequence of a lawful
order of a court, or of a person during
conditional release from such detention;
(ii) Any service of a military character and, in
countries where conscientious objection is
recognized, any national service required by law
of conscientious objectors;
(iii) Any service exacted in cases of emergency or
calamity threatening the life or well-being of the
community;
(iv) Any work or service which forms part of normal
civil obligations.
Article 9
1. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No
one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and
in accordance with such procedure as are established by law.
International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights: Page 4 of 20
2. Anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of
arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly
informed of any charges against him.
3. Anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge shall be
brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by
law to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to trial
within a reasonable time or to release. It shall not be the
general rule that persons awaiting trial shall be detained in
custody, but release may be subject to guarantees to appear for
trial, at any other stage of the judicial proceedings, and,
should occasion arise, for execution of the judgement.
4. Anyone who is deprived of his liberty by arrest or detention
shall be entitled to take proceedings before a court, in order
that that court may decide without delay on the lawfulness of his
detention and order his release if the detention is not lawful.
5. Anyone who has been the victim of unlawful arrest or
detention shall have an enforceable right to compensation.
Article 10
1. All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with
humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human
person.
2. (a) Accused persons shall, save in exceptional
circumstances, be segregated from convicted persons and
shall be subject to separate treatment appropriate to
their status as unconvicted persons;
(b) Accused juvenile persons shall be separated from adults
and brought as speedily as possible for adjudication.
3. The penitentiary system shall comprise treatment of
prisoners the essential aim of which shall be their reformation
and social rehabilitation. Juvenile offenders shall be
segregated from adults and be accorded treatment appropriate to
their age and legal status.
Article 11
No one shall be imprisoned merely on the ground of inability to
fulfil a contractual obligation.
Article 12
1. Everyone lawfully within the territory of a State shall,
within that territory, have the right to liberty of movement and
freedom to choose his residence.
International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights: Page 5 of 20
2. Everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his
own.
3. The above-mentioned rights shall not be subject to any
restrictions except those which are provided by law, are
necessary to protect national security, public order (ordre
public), public health or morals or the rights and freedoms of
others, and are consistent with the other rights recognized in
the present Covenant.
4. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter
his own country.
Article 13
An alien lawfully in the territory of a State Party to the
present Covenant may be expelled therefrom only in pursuance of a
decision reached in accordance with law and shall, except where
compelling reasons of national security otherwise require, be
allowed to submit the reasons against his expulsion and to have
his case reviewed by, and be represented for the purpose before,
the competent authority or a person or persons especially
designated by the competent authority.
Article 14
1. All persons shall be equal before the courts and tribunals.
In the determination of any criminal charge against him, or of
his rights and obligations in a suit at law, everyone shall be
entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent
and impartial tribunal established by law. The Press and the
public may be excluded from all or part of a trial for reasons of
morals, public order (ordre public) or national security in a
democratic society, or when the interest of the private lives of
the parties so requires, or to the extent strictly necessary in
the opinion of the court in special circumstances where publicity
would prejudice the interests of justice; but any judgement
rendered in a criminal case or in a suit at law shall be made
public except where the interest of juvenile persons otherwise
requires or the proceedings concern matrimonial disputes or the
guardianship of children.
2. Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall have the
right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to
law.
3. In the determination of any criminal charge against him,
everyone shall be entitled to the following minimum guarantees,
in full equality:
(a) To be informed promptly and in detail in a language
which he understands of the nature and cause of the
charge against him;
International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights: Page 6 of 20
(b) To have adequate time and facilities for the
preparation of his defence and to communicate with
counsel of his own choosing;
(c) To be tried without undue delay;
(d) To be tried in his presence, and to defend himself in
person or through legal assistance of his own choosing;
to be informed, if he does not have legal assistance,
of this right; and to have legal assistance assigned to
him, in any case where the interests of justice so
require, and without payment by him in any such case if
he does not have sufficient means to pay for it;
(e) To examine, or have examined the witnesses against him
and to obtain the attendance and examination of
witnesses on his behalf under the same conditions as
witnesses against him;
(f) To have the free assistance of an interpreter if he
cannot understand or speak the language used in court;
(g) Not to be compelled to testify against himself or to
confess guilt.
4. In the case of juvenile persons, the procedure shall be such
as will take account of their age and the desirability of
promoting their rehabilitation.
5. Everyone convicted of a crime shall have the right to his
conviction and sentence being reviewed by a higher tribunal
according to law.
6. When a person has by a final decision been convicted of a
criminal offence and when subsequently his conviction has been
reversed or he has been pardoned on the ground that a new or
newly discovered fact shows conclusively that there has been a
miscarriage of justice, the person who has suffered punishment as
a result of such conviction shall be compensated according to
law, unless it is proved that the non-disclosure of the unknown
fact in time is wholly or partly attributable to him.
7. No one shall be liable to be tried or punished again for an
offence for which he has already been finally convicted or
acquitted in accordance with the law and penal procedure of each
country.
Article 15
1. No one shall be held guilty of any criminal offence on
account of any act or omission which did not constitute a
criminal offence, under national or international law, at the
time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be
imposed than the one that was applicable at the time when the
criminal offence was committed. If, subsequent to the commission
International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights: Page 7 of 20
of the offence, provision is made by law for the imposition of a
lighter penalty, the offender shall benefit thereby.
2. Nothing in this article shall prejudice the trial and
punishment of any person for any act or omission which, at the
time when it was committed. was criminal according to the
general principles of law recognized by the community of nations.
Article 16
Everyone shall have the right to recognition everywhere as a
person before the law.
Article 17
1. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful
interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence,
nor to unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against
such interference or attacks.
Article 18
1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to
have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom,
either individually or in community with others and in public or
private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship,
observance, practice and teaching.
2. No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his
freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.
3. Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be subject
only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are
necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or
the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.
4. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have
respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal
guardians to ensure the religious and moral education of their
children in conformity with their own convictions.
Article 19
1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without
interference.
2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression;
this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers,
International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights: Page 8 of 20
either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or
through any other media of his choice.
3. The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of
this article carries with it special duties and responsibilities.
It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these
shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary:
(a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others;
(b) For the protection of national security or of public
order (ordre public), or of public health or morals.
Article 20
1. Any propaganda for war shall be prohibited by law.
2. Any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that
constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence
shall be prohibited by law.
Article 21
The right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized. No
restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other
than those imposed in conformity with the law and which are
necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national
security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the
protection of public health or morals or the protection of the
rights and freedoms of others.
Article 22
1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of association with
others, including the right to form and join trade unions for the
protection of his interests.
2. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right
other than those which are prescribed by law and which are
necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national
security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the
protection of public health or morals or the protection of the
rights and freedoms of others. This article shall not prevent
the imposition of lawful restrictions on members of the armed
forces and of the police in their exercise of this right.
3. Nothing in this article shall authorize States Parties to
the International Labour Organisation Convention of 1948
concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to
Organize to take legislative measures which would prejudice, or
to apply the law in such a manner as to prejudice, the guarantees
provided for in that Convention.
International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights: Page 9 of 20
Article 23
1. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of
society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
2. The right of men and women of marriageable age to marry and
to found a family shall be recognized.
3. No marriage shall be entered into without the free and full
consent of the intending spouses.
4. States Parties to the present Covenant shall take
appropriate steps to ensure equality of rights and
responsibilities of spouses as to marriage, during marriage and
at its dissolution. In the case of dissolution, provision shall
be made for the necessary protection of any children.
Article 24
1. Every child shall have, without any discrimination as to
race, colour sex, language, religion, national or social origin,
property or birth, the right to such measures of protection as
are required by his status as a minor, on the part of his family,
society and the State.
2. Every child shall be registered immediately after birth and
shall have a name.
3. Every child has the right to acquire a nationality.
Article 25
Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without
any of the distinctions mentioned in article 2 and without
unreasonable restrictions:
(a) To take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly
or through freely chosen representatives;
(b) To vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections
which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and
shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free
expression of the will of the electors;
(c) To have access, on general terms of equality, to public
service in his country.
Article 26
All persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any
discrimination to the equal protection of the law. In this
respect, the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee
to all persons equal and effective protection against
discrimination on any ground such as race, colour, sex, language,
International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights: Page 10 of 20
========================================================================
Paul Andrew Mitchell : Counselor at Law, federal witness
B.A., Political Science, UCLA; M.S., Public Administration, U.C. Irvine
tel: (520) 320-1514: machine; fax: (520) 320-1256: 24-hour/day-night
email: [address in toolbar] : using Eudora Pro 3.0.3 on 586 CPU
website: http://www.supremelaw.com : visit the Supreme Law Library now
ship to: c/o 2509 N. Campbell, #1776 : this is free speech, at its best
Tucson, Arizona state : state zone, not the federal zone
Postal Zone 85719/tdc : USPS delays first class w/o this
As agents of the Most High, we came here to establish justice. We shall
not leave, until our mission is accomplished and justice reigns eternal.
========================================================================
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