The document discusses the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which was adopted by the UN in 1966 and took effect in 1976. It protects civil and political rights like those in the UDHR. States commit to self-determination and peoples' rights over natural resources. The ICCPR is reflected in rights in the Indian Constitution like life, liberty, freedom of religion and expression. The Human Rights Committee monitors ICCPR implementation and state reporting. It can consider individual complaints regarding ICCPR violations if states ratify the optional protocol.

1. HUMAN RIGHTS LAW
Unit 2
International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights
Anushka Ukrani
Assistant Professor
a.ukrani@dme.ac.in

2. Introduction
• The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 16
December 1966.
• The ICCPR was to take effect ten years later in all nations that had
become state parties.
• A sufficient number of states had become parties so the ICCPR
took effect as planned in 1976.
• The Covenant elaborates further the civil and political rights and
freedoms listed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• Under Article 1 of the Covenant, the states commit themselves to
promote the right to self-determination and to respect that right.
It also recognises the rights of peoples to freely own, trade and
dispose of their natural wealth and resources.

3. ICCPR and Indian Constitution
ICCPR Constitution Rights enumerated
Art 6 Art 21 Life and human dignity
Art 7 Art 21 Freedom from inhuman and
degrading treatment
Art 8 Art 23 Freedom from slavery, servitude
and forced labour
Art 21 Art 21 Liberty security and speedy trial

4. ICCPR and Indian Constitution
ICCPR Constitution Rights enumerated
Art 10 Art 22 Detenu to be treated with
humanity
Art 18 Art 25-28 freedom of religion
Art 19 Art 19 right to freedom of expression

5. ICCPR and Indian Constitution
ICCPR Constitution Rights enumerated
Art 12 Art 19 Freedom of movement
Art 11 Art 21 Freedom from imprisonment for
inability to fulfil a contractual
obligation
Art 13 india has made
reservations to
this provision
freedom for aliens from arbitrary
arrest
Art 14 Art 21 fair trial and legal assistance

6. Jolly Varghese v. Bank of Cochin
The words in section 51 which hurt are "or has had since the date of
the decree the means to pay the amount of the decree." Superficially
read this implies that if at any time after the passing of an old decree
the judgment- debtor had come by some resources and had not
discharged the decree he could be detained in prison even though at
that later point of time he was found to be penniless. This is not a
sound position, apart from being inhuman going by the standards of
Article 11 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
and Article 21. A simple default to discharge is not enough. There
must be some element of bad faith beyond mere indifference to pay,
some deliberate or recusant disposition in the past or alternatively
current means to pay the decree or a substantial part of it. The
provision emphasises the need to establish not mere omission to pay
but an attitude of refusal on demand verging on dishonest disowning
of the obligation under the decree. Considerations of the debtor's
other pressing needs and straitened circumstances will play
prominently.

7. NALSA v. Union of India
Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, affirms that every human-being has the inherent
right to life, which right shall be protected by law and no
one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life. Article 7 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provide
that no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment. Article 17 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights state
that no one shall be subjected to “arbitrary or unlawful
interference with his privacy, family, home or
correspondence”. International Conventions and norms are
significant for the purpose of interpretation of gender
equality.

8. Human Rights Committee
The Human Rights Committee is the
committee, established following article 28,
which monitors the implementation of civil
and political rights under the ICCPR. The
Committee examines States parties’ reports,
submitted under article 40, on the measures
they have adopted to give effect to the rights
recognized in the Covenant and on the
progress made in the enjoyment of these
rights.

9. State reporting
• One year after the ICCPR’s entry into force, each State Party
must submit a report to the Human Rights Committee detailing
the status of its implementation of the ICCPR’s provisions.
• After the initial report, a State will submit periodic reports
when the Bureau of the Human Rights Committee requests
them.
• Historically, the first step in the Human Rights Committee’s
review of periodic State reports has been the State’s
submission of its report addressing the advances made since
the previous reporting cycle, after which the Committee would
adopt a list of issues to identify the topics it most wanted to
discuss during a constructive dialogue with the State.
• On the basis of the reports and replies to the list of issues
submitted by the State and civil society, the Committee would
then prepare its concluding observations.

10. Standard Reporting procedure

11. Individual Complaints
• The Human Rights Committee may consider individual
complaints that allege a violation of an individual’s rights
under the ICCPR if the State is a party to the First Optional
Protocol to the ICCPR, which establishes the complaints
mechanism.
• In order to submit an individual complaint, the model
complaint form may be used to provide: (1) basic
information, (2) the State party to which the complaint is
directed against and the rights set out in the ICCPR that have
been alleged to be violated, (3) steps taken to exhaust
domestic remedies, (4) a chronological list of facts on which
the complaint is based, and (5) a checklist of supporting
documents, including copies of complaints or decisions
before domestic courts and corroborating evidence.

12. Conditions to be fulfilled for an individual complaint to be
accepted.
• Victim must be citizen of a state which a party to
ICCPR as well as the optional protocol (Art 1
optional Protocol)
• The Committee shall not consider any
communication from an individual unless it has
ascertained that (Art 5 optional protocol):
– The same matter is not being examined under another
procedure of international investigation or settlement;
– The individual has exhausted all available domestic
remedies. This shall not be the rule where the
application of the remedies is unreasonably
prolonged.