International Law
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Please, click on each of the following link to read the corresponding information and legal documents.
Courts
- International Court of Justice (The Hague, Netherlands)
- International Criminal Court (The Hague, Netherlands)
- 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)
International Instruments
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, rights of the accused, prohibition of torture and prisoners’ rights contained within relevants sections of each document. Please, note that only the provisions relevant to these issues are selected. By concern of clarity, some articles are not quoted in their original version but their content is summarized. It also provides which country ratified, signed or otherwise adopted each specific treaty and when.
Note that declarations, principles, guidelines and rules have no binding legal effect, but provide member states with a standard, and advisory or moral force and provide practical guidance to states in their conduct. Hence there is hereforth no reference to signing or ratification. However, covenants, conventions, statutes, and protocols are legally binding for those states that sign and then ratify or accede to them. By signing a convention, a state expresses its intention to become a party to the convention. However, signature does not oblige a state to take further action towards ratification. Ratification involves the legal obligation for the state to apply the convention. It is reserved for Member States (although there are some exceptions).
Torture
Binding Instruments
- 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
UN General Assembly Declarations
- 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
- Principles on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Prisoner's Rights and Sentencing Standards
UN General Assembly Declarations
- Basic Principles for the 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
UN ECOSOC Resolutions
Children's Rights
Binding Instruments
UN General Assembly Declarations
- 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)
Other
Binding Instruments
- Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
- Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty
- International Covenant for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
- Common Article 3 of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and Additional Protocols I and II
- Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity
UN General Assembly Declarations
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- United Nations Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary Power
- United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials
- Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power
- Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and the Improvement of Mental Health Care
UN ECOSOC Resolutions
UN Congresses
- Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers
- Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors
- Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials
Regional Instruments
African
Binding Instruments
Declarations
- Kampala Declaration on Prison Conditions in Africa
- Kadoma Declaration on Community Service
- Resolution on the Right to a Fair Trial and Legal Assistance in Africa - The Dakar Declaration and Resolution
- Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Fair Trial and Legal Assistance in Africa
- Ouagadougou Declaration and Plan of Action on Accelerating Prison and Penal Reform in Africa
- Lilongwe Declaration on Accessing Legal Aid in Criminal Justice System in Africa and Plan of Action
- Guidelines and Measures for the Prohibition and Prevention of Torture, Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in Africa (Robben Island Guidelines)
American
- American Declaration on the rights and duties of man
- American Convention on Human Rights
- Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish the Crime of Torture
Arab
European
- Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
- Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
- European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and of Inhumane or Degrading Punishments or Treatments
