International Commission of Jurists
Human Rights Committee General Comment on the right to liberty

Human Rights Committee General Comment on the right to liberty

Oct 25, 2012 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions

During a half-day of general discussion held today by the Human Rights Committee, the ICJ supported the establishment by the Committee of a General Comment on the right to security and liberty of the person under article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

As an update to its General Comment No 8 of 1982, the Human Rights Committee (the Committee) has commenced a process to develop a new General Comment on article 9 of the ICCPR. Responding to a list of issues prepared by the Committee for potential expansion within the General Comment, the ICJ supported the initiative and called for clarification of certain issues in this work.

The ICJ’s submission and statement also called on the Committee to give express consideration to the following thematic issues within the General Comment:

  • The meaning of ‘arbitrary’ deprivation of liberty;
  • Application of article 9 in international and non-international armed conflicts, including in the context of administrative detention;
  • Control orders and other mechanisms involving restrictions of movement and the extent to which such mechanisms might interfere with liberty rights;
  • Detention of asylum-seekers and irregular migrants; and
  • The role and accountability of legal entities.

The Committee is scheduled to consider and adopt a first draft of the General Comment during its session in March 2013. The ICJ intends to make substantive submissions on this first draft.

ICJ-HRCttee-GCArticle9-IssuesStatement-non-legal submission (2012) (download in PDF)

ICJ-HRCttee-GCArticle9-IssuesSubmission-non-legal submission (2012) (download in PDF)

HumanRightsCommittee-Issues-Article9 (download in Word)

Spanish Supreme Court urged to proceed with case against former US officials accused of facilitating torture

Spanish Supreme Court urged to proceed with case against former US officials accused of facilitating torture

Sep 26, 2012 | Advocacy, Cases, Legal submissions

The ICJ and others argue that Spain should assume jurisdiction, as the US has allowed for impunity of top officials who facilitated torture.

The ICJ joined the Center for Constitutional Rights, the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights and other leading organizations and scholars, arguing that the Spanish Supreme Court should reopen the investigations for participation in or aiding and abetting torture and other human rights abuses against six senior legal officials of the Bush Administration.

The brief argues that Spain should exercise jurisdiction under Spanish law because the US itself has failed to carry out any meaningful investigations and prosecutions against the officials, who are alleged to have provided legal authorisation for torture practices against “war on terror” detainees.

The officials are David Addington (former Counsel to, and Chief of Staff for, former Vice President Cheney): Jay S. Bybee (former Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ); Douglas Feith (former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Department of Defense (DOD); Alberto R. Gonzales (former Counsel to former President George W. Bush, and former Attorney General of the United States); William J Haynes (former General Counsel, DOD); and John Yoo (former Deputy Assistant Attorney General, OLC, DOJ).

SpainUSA-Bushlawyers-AmicusBrief-2012-eng (download third party intervention)

Human Rights Council parallel event on transitional justice

Human Rights Council parallel event on transitional justice

Sep 12, 2012 | Events

The ICJ, Impunity Watch and other NGOs sponsored today a parallel event to the UN Human Rights Council on the occasion of the presentation of the first report to the Council by the new Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence.

The parallel event was held 2012 in the margins of the UN Human Rights Council’s 21st regular session. Panelists included the Special Rapporteur, Pablo de Greiff, victims’ representatives from Guatemala and Burundi, Bejamin Mateo Jeronimo and Aloys Batungwanayo, and the Executive Director of Impunity Watch, Marlies Stappers. The event was moderated by Alex Conte of the ICJ.

HRC21-Impunity-ParallelEvent-2012 (download invitation flyer, in PDF)

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