Jul 21, 2000
Amicus Curiae de la CIJ y Amnistía Internacional sobre tribunales militares y desaparición forzada presentado ante el Consejo Superior de la Judicatura de Colombia en el marco del proceso N. E. Bautista contra el General Velandia y otros militares.
El procesamiento y juzgamiento de militares y policías por violaciones a los derechos humanos por tribunales castrenses está en contradicción con el Deber de Garantía del Estado y constituye una violación de las obligaciones internacionales del Estado a la luz del Derecho internacional de los derechos humanos.
Amnistía Internacional y la Comisión Internacional de Juristas esperan que estas consideraciones, aunadas con la jurisprudencia establecida por la Corte Constitucional de Colombia, sean de recibo del Honorable Consejo Superior de la Judicatura y que la práctica de hacer extensible el fuero militar a los casos de violaciones de derechos humanos sea definitivamente erradicada, garantizando así la preeminencia del estado de derecho y la protección de los derechos fundamentales.
Colombia-military courts-legal submission-2000
May 13, 1998
The ICJ is deeply concerned by the assassination attempt perpetrated against Mr. Akin Birdal, President of the largest Turkish non-governmental human rights organization, the Human Rights Association (IHD), on 12 May 1998.
Aug 4, 1997
Today, the ICJ stated that the critical political situation in Kenya required immediate action to avoid further deterioration of the political climate.
Jul 1, 1984
It has long been observed by the American Association for the ICJ (AAICJ) that one of the main instruments employed by governments to repress and deny the fundamental rights and freedoms of peoples has been the illegal and unwarranted Declaration of Martial Law or a State of Emergency.
Very often these measures are taken under the pretext of the existence of a “ public emergency which threatens the life of the nation” or “ threats to its national security.”
The abuse of applicable provisions allowing governments to limit and derogate from certain rights contained in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights has resulted in the need for a closer examination of the conditions and grounds for permissible limitations and derogations in order to achieve an effective implementation of the rule of law. The United Nations General Assembly has frequently emphasized the importance of a uniform interpretation of limitations on rights enunciated in the Covenant.
With this in mind, the A AICJ initiated a colloquium composed of 31 distinguished experts in international law, held at Siracusa, Italy, in the Spring of 1984. This meeting, the first of its kind, was co-sponsored by the ICJ, the Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights, and the International Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Sciences.
The participants examined the limitation and derogation provisions in the Covenant, seeking to identify:
- their legitimate objectives;
- the general principles of interpretation which govern their imposition and application; and
- some of the main features of the grounds for limitation or derogation
The document contains:
- an introductory note
- the texts of the Siracusa Principles, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and its Optional Protocol, plus individual limitation provisions cross-referenced to the Covenant
Siracusa principles-ICCPR-legal submission-1985-eng (full text in English, PDF)
Jan 1, 1984
The ICJ and the Swiss Committee Against Torture advocated for the adoption of a European Convention against Torture. The text is annexed to the recommendations.
The setting up of a European Convention would represent a tremendous break-through towards an effective interstate system of control for the prevention of torture, and more generally, would be an important step towards a better respect for human rights at the international level.
Europe-draft convention torture-convention-1984-eng (full text in English, PDF)
Europe-Draft convention torture-convention-1984-fra (full text in French, PDF)
