International Law

Courts

• International Court of Justice (The Hague, Netherlands)
  • ICJ Rules of Court
• International Criminal Court (The Hague, Netherlands)
  • Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
• International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (The Hague, Netherlands)
• International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (Arusha, Tanzania)
• Special Court for Sierra Leone (Freetown, Sierra Leone)

Treaties

Background

Since the United Nations was founded in 1945, the various states have drafted several tools to facilitate international law. Several of those international tools are listed here, with a focus on criminal justice and prisoners' rights. Some of these tools are called "basic principals" while others are called "covenants". Generally speaking, principals are advisory, while covenants are binding on the states. The International Court of Justice provides remedies for violations of some of these covenants.

Torture

• Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
• Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
• Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
• Principles of Medical Ethics Relevant to the Role of Health Personnel, Particularly Physicians, in the Protection of Prisoners and Detainees against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
• Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish the Crime of Torture

Prisoners' Rights and Sentencing Standards

• Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners
• Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners
• United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (The Tokyo Rules)
• Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment

Children's Rights

• United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (The Riyadh Guidelines)
• United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty
• Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules)
• United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

Other Important Treaties

• Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
• American Convention on Human Rights
• Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• United Nations Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary Power
• Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
• United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials
• Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials
• Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power
• Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers
• Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors
• Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions
• International Covenant for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
• Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials
• Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and the Improvement of Mental Health Care
• Common Article 3 of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and Additional Protocols I and II
• Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union