American Convention on Human Rights: State Obligations and Protected Rights, Exercises of Human Rights

Download American Convention on Human Rights: State Obligations and Protected Rights and more Exercises Human Rights in PDF only on Docsity!   Department of International Law  Secretariat for Legal Affairs    Multilateral Treaties Home Page >>> click aquí  Treaty Home Page >>> click aquí  Signatories and Ratifications Home Page >>> click aquí    MULTILATERAL TREATIES  » AMERICAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS "PACT OF SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA" (B-32) Preamble The American states signatory to the present Convention, Reaffirming their intention to consolidate in this hemisphere, within the framework of democratic institutions, a system of personal liberty and social justice based on respect for the essential rights of man; Recognizing that the essential rights of man are not derived from one's being a national of a certain state, but are based upon attributes of the human personality, and that they therefore justify international protection in the form of a convention reinforcing or complementing the protection provided by the domestic law of the American states; Considering that these principles have been set forth in the Charter of the Organization of American States, in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and that they have been reaffirmed and refined in other international instruments, worldwide as well as regional in scope; Reiterating that, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ideal of free men enjoying freedom from fear and want can be achieved only if conditions are created whereby everyone may enjoy his economic, social, and cultural rights, as well as his civil and political rights; and Considering that the Third Special Inter-American Conference (Buenos Aires, 1967) approved the incorporation into the Charter of the Organization itself of broader standards with respect to economic, social, and educational rights and resolved that an inter-American convention on human rights should determine the structure, competence, and procedure of the organs responsible for these matters, Have agreed upon the following: PART I - STATE OBLIGATIONS AND RIGHTS PROTECTED CHAPTER I - GENERAL OBLIGATIONS Article 1. Obligation to Respect Rights 1. The States Parties to this Convention undertake to respect the rights and freedoms recognized herein and to ensure to all persons subject to their jurisdiction the free and full exercise of those rights and freedoms, without any discrimination for reasons of race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, economic status, birth, or any other social condition. 2. For the purposes of this Convention, "person" means every human being. Article 2. Domestic Legal Effects Where the exercise of any of the rights or freedoms referred to in Article 1 is not already ensured by legislative or other provisions, the States Parties undertake to adopt, in accordance with their constitutional processes and the provisions of this Convention, such legislative or other measures as may be necessary to give effect to those rights or freedoms. CHAPTER II - CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS Article 3. Right to Juridical Personality Every person has the right to recognition as a person before the law. Article 4. Right to Life 1. Every person has the right to have his life respected. This right shall be protected by law and, in general, from the moment of conception. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life. 2. In countries that have not abolished the death penalty, it may be imposed only for the most serious crimes and pursuant to a final judgment rendered by a competent court and in accordance with a law establishing such punishment, enacted prior to the commission of the crime. The application of such punishment shall not be extended to crimes to which it does not presently apply. 3. The death penalty shall not be reestablished in states that have abolished it. 4. In no case shall capital punishment be inflicted for political offenses or related common crimes. 5. Capital punishment shall not be imposed upon persons who, at the time the crime was committed, were under 18 years of age or over 70 years of age; nor shall it be applied to pregnant women. 6. Every person condemned to death shall have the right to apply for amnesty, pardon, or commutation of e. the inalienable right to be assisted by counsel provided by the state, paid or not as the domestic law ense to examine witnesses present in the court and to obtain the appearance, as witnesses, or to plead guilty; and only if it is made without coercion of any kind. he same inal proceedings shall be public, except insofar as may be necessary to protect the interests of justice. provides, if the accused does not defend himself personally or engage his own counsel within the time period established by law; f. the right of the def of experts or other persons who may throw light on the facts; g. the right not to be compelled to be a witness against himself h. the right to appeal the judgment to a higher court. 3. A confession of guilt by the accused shall be valid 4. An accused person acquitted by a nonappealable judgment shall not be subjected to a new trial for t cause. 5. Crim Article 9. Freedom from Ex Post Facto Laws No one shall be convicted of any act or omission that did not constitute a criminal offense, under the was he applicable law, at the time it was committed. A heavier penalty shall not be imposed than the one that applicable at the time the criminal offense was committed. If subsequent to the commission of the offense t law provides for the imposition of a lighter punishment, the guilty person shall benefit therefrom. Article 10. Right to Compensation Every person has the right to be compensated in accordance with the law in the event he has been sentenced by a final judgment through a miscarriage of justice. Article 11. Right to Privacy 1. Everyone has the right to have his honor respected and his dignity recognized. fe, his family, his home, or 2. No one may be the object of arbitrary or abusive interference with his private li his correspondence, or of unlawful attacks on his honor or reputation. 3. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks. Article 12. Freedom of Conscience and Religion 1. Everyone has the right to freedom of conscience and of religion. This right includes freedom to maintain or is freedom to maintain or to change his religion or to change one's religion or beliefs, and freedom to profess or disseminate one's religion or beliefs, either individually or together with others, in public or in private. 2. No one shall be subject to restrictions that might impair h beliefs. 3. Freedom to manifest one's religion and beliefs may be subject only to the limitations prescribed by law that ucation of are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals, or the rights or freedoms of others. 4. Parents or guardians, as the case may be, have the right to provide for the religious and moral ed their children or wards that is in accord with their own convictions. Article 13. Freedom of Thought and Expression 1. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought and expression. This right includes freedom to seek, receive, ragraph shall not be subject to prior censorship but ts or reputations of others; or r public health or morals. such as the abuse of the of he provisions of paragraph 2 above, public entertainments may be subject by law to prior anda for war and any advocacy of national, racial, or religious hatred that constitute incitements able 4. Right of Reply and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing, in print, in the form of art, or through any other medium of one's choice. 2. The exercise of the right provided for in the foregoing pa shall be subject to subsequent imposition of liability, which shall be expressly established by law to the extent necessary to ensure: a. respect for the righ b. the protection of national security, public order, o 3. The right of expression may not be restricted by indirect methods or means, government or private controls over newsprint, radio broadcasting frequencies, or equipment used in dissemination of information, or by any other means tending to impede the communication and circulation ideas and opinions. 4. Notwithstanding t censorship for the sole purpose of regulating access to them for the moral protection of childhood and adolescence. 5. Any propag to lawless violence or to any other similar action against any person or group of persons on any grounds including those of race, color, religion, language, or national origin shall be considered as offenses punish by law. Article 1 rate or offensive statements or ideas disseminated to the public in general by a s that may have been incurred. ture, 1. Anyone injured by inaccu legally regulated medium of communication has the right to reply or to make a correction using the same communications outlet, under such conditions as the law may establish. 2. The correction or reply shall not in any case remit other legal liabilitie 3. For the effective protection of honor and reputation, every publisher, and every newspaper, motion pic radio, and television company, shall have a person responsible who is not protected by immunities or special privileges. Article 15. Right of Assembly ithout arms, is recognized. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of r of Association The right of peaceful assembly, w this right other than those imposed in conformity with the law and necessary in a democratic society in the interest of national security, public safety or public order, or to protect public health or morals or the rights o freedom of others. Article 16. Freedom freely for ideological, religious, political, economic, labor, social, subject only to such restrictions established by law as may be necessary in on of legal restrictions, including even deprivation of 1. Everyone has the right to associate cultural, sports, or other purposes. 2. The exercise of this right shall be a democratic society, in the interest of national security, public safety or public order, or to protect public health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others. 3. The provisions of this article do not bar the impositi the exercise of the right of association, on members of the armed forces and the police. Article 17. Rights of the Family 1. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and ht of men and women of marriageable age to marry and to raise a family shall be recognized, if they e and full consent of the intending spouses. e balancing of ognize equal rights for children born out of wedlock and those born in wedlock. the state. 2. The rig meet the conditions required by domestic laws, insofar as such conditions do not affect the principle of nondiscrimination established in this Convention. 3. No marriage shall be entered into without the fre 4. The States Parties shall take appropriate steps to ensure the equality of rights and the adequat responsibilities of the spouses as to marriage, during marriage, and in the event of its dissolution. In case of dissolution, provision shall be made for the necessary protection of any children solely on the basis of their own best interests. 5. The law shall rec Article 18. Right to a Name Every person has the right to a given name and to the surnames of his parents or that of one of them. The law Rights of the Child shall regulate the manner in which this right shall be ensured for all, by the use of assumed names if necessary. Article 19. scientific, and cultural standards set forth in the Charter of the Organization of American States as ame by the Protocol of Buenos Aires. CHAPTER IV - SUSPENSION nded OF GUARANTEES, INTERPRETATION, AND APPLICATION Article 27. Suspension of Guarantees 1. In time of war, public danger, or other emergency that threatens the independence or security of a State for und nsion of the following articles: Article 3 (Right to Party, it may take measures derogating from its obligations under the present Convention to the extent and the period of time strictly required by the exigencies of the situation, provided that such measures are not inconsistent with its other obligations under international law and do not involve discrimination on the gro of race, color, sex, language, religion, or social origin. 2. The foregoing provision does not authorize any suspe Juridical Personality), Article 4 (Right to Life), Article 5 (Right to Humane Treatment), Article 6 (Freedom from Slavery), Article 9 (Freedom from Ex Post Facto Laws), Article 12 (Freedom of Conscience and Religion), Article 17 (Rights of the Family), Article 18 (Right to a Name), Article 19 (Rights of the Ch Article 20 (Right to Nationality), and Article 23 (Right to Participate in Government), or of the judicial guarantees essential for the protection of such rights. 3. Any State Party availing itself of the right of suspen ild), sion shall immediately inform the other States Parties, al Clause through the Secretary General of the Organization of American States, of the provisions the application of which it has suspended, the reasons that gave rise to the suspension, and the date set for the termination of such suspension. Article 28. Feder stituted as a federal state, the national government of such State Party shall icial ct to the provisions over whose subject matter the constituent units of the federal state have tion or other type of association, they shall take 1. Where a State Party is con implement all the provisions of the Convention over whose subject matter it exercises legislative and jud jurisdiction. 2. With respe jurisdiction, the national government shall immediately take suitable measures, in accordance with its constitution and its laws, to the end that the competent authorities of the constituent units may adopt appropriate provisions for the fulfillment of this Convention. 3. Whenever two or more States Parties agree to form a federa care that the resulting federal or other compact contains the provisions necessary for continuing and rendering effective the standards of this Convention in the new state that is organized. Article 29. Restrictions Regarding Interpretation No provision of this Convention shall be interpreted as: s the enjoyment or exercise of the rights and in; te r derived from a. permitting any State Party, group, or person to suppres freedoms recognized in this Convention or to restrict them to a greater extent than is provided for here b. restricting the enjoyment or exercise of any right or freedom recognized by virtue of the laws of any Sta Party or by virtue of another convention to which one of the said states is a party; c. precluding other rights or guarantees that are inherent in the human personality o representative democracy as a form of government; or d. excluding or limiting the effect that the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and other international acts of the same nature may have. Article 30. Scope of Restrictions The restrictions that, pursuant to this Convention, may be placed on the enjoyment or exercise of the rights or freedoms recognized herein may not be applied except in accordance with laws enacted for reasons of general interest and in accordance with the purpose for which such restrictions have been established. Article 31. Recognition of Other Rights Other rights and freedoms recognized in accordance with the procedures established in Articles 76 and 77 ONSIBILITIES Article 32. Relationship be may be included in the system of protection of this Convention. CHAPTER V - PERSONAL RESP tween Duties and Rights 1. Every person has responsibilities to his family, his community, and mankind. all, and by the just demands EANS OF PROTECTION C Article 33 2. The rights of each person are limited by the rights of others, by the security of of the general welfare, in a democratic society. PART II - M HAPTER VI - COMPETENT ORGANS ng organs shall have competence with respect to matters relating to the fulfillment of the to as "The Commission;" and N HUMAN RIGHTS Section 1. Organization The followi commitments made by the States Parties to this Convention: a. the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, referred b. the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, referred to as "The Court." CHAPTER VII - INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION O Article 34 ission on Human Rights shall be composed of seven members, who shall be igh moral character and recognized competence in the field of human rights. The Inter-American Comm persons of h Article 35 The Commission shall represent all the member countries of the Organization of American States. Article 36 1. The members of the Commission shall be elected in a personal capacity by the General Assembly of the n from a list of candidates proposed by the governments of the member states. a slate of three is Organizatio 2. Each of those governments may propose up to three candidates, who may be nationals of the states proposing them or of any other member state of the Organization of American States. When proposed, at least one of the candidates shall be a national of a state other than the one proposing the slate. Article 37 1. The members of the Commission shall be elected for a term of four years and may be reelected only once, s of three of the members chosen in the first election shall expire at the end of two years. 38 but the term Immediately following that election the General Assembly shall determine the names of those three members by lot. 2. No two nationals of the same state may be members of the Commission. Article mal expiration of a term shall be anent Council of the Organization in accordance with the provisions of the Statute of the Vacancies that may occur on the Commission for reasons other than the nor filled by the Perm Commission. Article 39 The Commission shall prepare its Statute, which it shall submit to the General Assembly for approval. It shall own Regulations. establish its Article 40 Secretariat services for the Commission shall be furnished by the appropriate specialized unit of the General f the Organization. This unit shall be provided with the resources required to accomplish the tasks Secretariat o assigned to it by the Commission. Section 2. Functions Article 41 The Commission shall consider inadmissible any petition or communication submitted under Articles 44 or 45 requirements indicated in Article 46 has not been met; this Convention; tion or communication is manifestly munication is substantially the same as one previously studied by the Commission or by if: a. any of the b. the petition or communication does not state facts that tend to establish a violation of the rights guaranteed by c. the statements of the petitioner or of the state indicate that the peti groundless or obviously out of order; or d. the petition or com another international organization. Section 4. Procedure Article 48 1. When the Commission receives a petition or communication alleging violation of any of the rights ntion, it shall proceed as follows: ders the petition or communication admissible, it shall request information from the government a unication. This information shall be submitted within a reasonable period to be determined by the Commission in accordance with the circumstances of each has If they do not, the Commission shall order the record to be closed. ledge of the parties, examine the effective conduct of which it shall request, and the states concerned shall furnish to it, all necessary facilities. d, f the parties concerned with a view to reaching a friendly protected by this Conve a. If it consi of the state indicated as being responsible for the alleged violations and shall furnish that government transcript of the pertinent portions of the petition or comm case. b. After the information has been received, or after the period established has elapsed and the information not been received, the Commission shall ascertain whether the grounds for the petition or communication still exist. c. The Commission may also declare the petition or communication inadmissible or out of order on the basis of information or evidence subsequently received. d. If the record has not been closed, the Commission shall, with the know matter set forth in the petition or communication in order to verify the facts. If necessary and advisable, the Commission shall carry out an investigation, for the e. The Commission may request the states concerned to furnish any pertinent information and, if so requeste shall hear oral statements or receive written statements from the parties concerned. f. The Commission shall place itself at the disposal o settlement of the matter on the basis of respect for the human rights recognized in this Convention. 2. However, in serious and urgent cases, only the presentation of a petition or communication that fulfills all mitted. the formal requirements of admissibility shall be necessary in order for the Commission to conduct an investigation with the prior consent of the state in whose territory a violation has allegedly been com Article 49 If a friendly settlement has been reached in accordance with paragraph 1.f of Article 48, the Commissio draw up a report, which shall be transmitted to the petitioner and to the States Parties to this Convention, and n shall e communicated to the Secretary General of the Organization of American States for publication. shall then b This report shall contain a brief statement of the facts and of the solution reached. If any party in the case so requests, the fullest possible information shall be provided to it. Article 50 1. If a settlement is not reached, the Commission shall, within the time limit established by its Statute, draw u a report setting forth the facts and stating its conclusions. If the re p port, in whole or in part, does not represent ent of the members of the Commission, any member may attach to it a separate opinion. the unanimous agreem The written and oral statements made by the parties in accordance with paragraph 1.e of Article 48 shall also be attached to the report. 2. The report shall be transmitted to the states concerned, which shall not be at liberty to publish it. 3. In transmitting the report, the Commission may make such proposals and recommendations as it sees fit. Article 51 1. If, within a period of three months from the date of the transmittal of the report of the Commission to the o the Court and its jurisdiction accepted, the Commission may, by the vote of an absolute majority od f states concerned, the matter has not either been settled or submitted by the Commission or by the state concerned t of its members, set forth its opinion and conclusions concerning the question submitted for its consideration. 2. Where appropriate, the Commission shall make pertinent recommendations and shall prescribe a peri within which the state is to take the measures that are incumbent upon it to remedy the situation examined. 3. When the prescribed period has expired, the Commission shall decide by the vote of an absolute majority o its members whether the state has taken adequate measures and whether to publish its report. CHAPTER VIII - INTER-AMERICAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS Section 1. Organization Article 52 1. The Court sha lected in an mong jurists of the highest moral authority and of recognized competence in the ll consist of seven judges, nationals of the member states of the Organization, e individual capacity from a field of human rights, who possess the qualifications required for the exercise of the highest judicial functions in conformity with the law of the state of which they are nationals or of the state that proposes them as candidates. 2. No two judges may be nationals of the same state. Article 53 1. The judges of the Court shall be elected by secret ballot by an absolute majority vote of the States Parties to ization, from a panel of candidates proposed by those e andidates shall be a national of a state other than the one proposing the slate. the Convention, in the General Assembly of the Organ states. 2. Each of the States Parties may propose up to three candidates, nationals of the state that proposes them or of any other member state of the Organization of American States. When a slate of three is proposed, at least on of the c Article 54 1. The judges of the Court shall be elected for a term of six years and may be reelected only once. The term of three of the judges chosen in the first election shall expire at the end of three years. Immediately after the names of the three judges shall be determined by lot in the General Assembly. ve es they shall not election, the 2. A judge elected to replace a judge whose term has not expired shall complete the term of the latter. 3. The judges shall continue in office until the expiration of their term. However, they shall continue to ser with regard to cases that they have begun to hear and that are still pending, for which purpos be replaced by the newly elected judges. Article 55 1. If a judge is a national of any of the States Parties to a case submitted to the Court, he shall retain his right to hear that case. 2. If one of the judges called upon to hear a case should be a national of one of the States Parties to the case, any other State Party in the case may appoint a person of its choice to serve on the Court as an ad hoc judge. 3. If among the judges called upon to hear a case none is a national of any of the States Parties to the case, each of the latter may appoint an ad hoc judge. 4. An ad hoc judge shall possess the qualifications indicated in Article 52. 5. If several States Parties to the Convention should have the same interest in a case, they shall be considered as a single party for purposes of the above provisions. In case of doubt, the Court shall decide. Article 56 Five judges shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business by the Court. or scope of the judgment, the Court shall interpret it at the request of any of the parties, provided the request is made within ninety days from the date of notification of the judgment. Article 68 1. The States Parties to the Convention undertake to comply with the judgment of the Court in any case to which they are parties. 2. That part of a judgment that stipulates compensatory damages may be executed in the country concerned in with domestic procedure governing the execution of judgments against the state. accordance Article 69 The parties to the case shall be notified of the judgment of the Court and it shall be transmitted to the States Parties to the Convention. CHAPTER IX - COMMON PROVISIONS Article 70 1. The judges of the Court and the members of the Commission shall enjoy, from the moment of their electio and throughout their term o n f office, the immunities extended to diplomatic agents in accordance with international law. During the ex ition, enjoy the diplomatic ecessary for the performance of their duties. ercise of their official function they shall, in add privileges n 2. At no time shall the judges of the Court or the members of the Commission be held liable for any decisions or opinions issued in the exercise of their functions. Article 71 The position of judge of the Court or member of the Commission is incompatible with any other activity that might affect the independence or impartiality of such judge or member, as determined in the respective statutes. Article 72 The judges of the Court and the members of the Commission shall receive emoluments and travel allowances in the form and under the conditions set forth in their statutes, with due regard for the importance and independence of their office. Such emoluments and travel allowances shall be determined in the budget of the n of American States, which shall also include the expenses of the Court and its Secretariat. To this end, the Court shall draw up its own budget and submit it for approval to the General Assembly through Organizatio the General Secretariat. The latter may not introduce any changes in it. Article 73 The General Assembly may, only at the request of the Commission or the Court, as the case may be, determine sanctions to be applied against members of the Commission or judges of the Court when there are justifiable grounds for such action as set forth in the respective statutes. A vote of a two-thirds majority of the tes of the Organization shall be required for a decision in the case of members of the Commission and, in the case of judges of the Court, a two-thirds majority vote of the States Parties to the Convention shall member sta also be required. PART III - GENERAL AND TRANSITORY PROVISIONS CHAPTER X - SIGNATURE, RATIFICATION, RESERVATIONS, AMENDMENTS, PROTOCOLS, AND DENUNCIATION Article 74 1. This Convention sha mber state of the 2. Ratification of or adherence to this Convention shall be made by the deposit of an instrument of ratification e with the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States. As soon as eleven states heres thereafter, the Convention shall enter into force on the date of the ll be open for signature and ratification by or adherence of any me Organization of American States. or adherenc have deposited their instruments of ratification or adherence, the Convention shall enter into force. With respect to any state that ratifies or ad deposit of its instrument of ratification or adherence. 3. The Secretary General shall inform all member states of the Organization of the entry into force of the Convention. Article 75 This Convention shall be subject to reservations only in conformity with the provisions of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties signed on May 23, 1969. Article 76 1. Proposals to amend this Convention may be submitted to the General Assembly for the action it deems eral. hem on the date when two-thirds of the States is Convention have deposited their respective instruments of ratification. With respect to the other appropriate by any State Party directly, and by the Commission or the Court through the Secretary Gen 2. Amendments shall enter into force for the States ratifying t Parties to th States Parties, the amendments shall enter into force on the dates on which they deposit their respective instruments of ratification. Article 77 1. In accordance with Article 31, any State Party and the Commission may submit proposed protocols to this Convention for consideration by the States Parties at the General Assembly with a view to gradually including other rights and freedoms within its system of protection. tocol shall determine the manner of its entry into force and shall be applied only among the States 2. Each pro Parties to it. Article 78 1. The States Parties may denounce this Convention at the expiration of a five-year period from the date of its the Secretary General of the Organization, who shall inform the other States Parties. nunciation shall not have the effect of releasing the State Party concerned from the obligations entry into force and by means of notice given one year in advance. Notice of the denunciation shall be addressed to 2. Such a de contained in this Convention with respect to any act that may constitute a violation of those obligations and that has been taken by that state prior to the effective date of denunciation. CHAPTER XI - TRANSITORY PROVISIONS Section 1. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Article 79 Upon the entry into force of this Convention, the Secretary General shall, in writing, request each member state of the Organization to pr ship on the Inter-American epare a list in alphabetical order of the resented, and transmit it to the member states of the Organization at least thirty days prior to the esent, within ninety days, its candidates for member Commission on Human Rights. The Secretary General shall pr candidates p next session of the General Assembly. Article 80 The members of the Commission shall be elected by secret ballot of the General Assembly from the lis candidates referred to in Article 79. The candidates who obtain the largest number of votes and an absolute majority of the votes of the representati t of ves of the member states shall be declared elected. Should it become have several ballots in order to elect all the members of the Commission, the candidates who receive the smallest number of votes shall be eliminated successively, in the manner determined by the necessary to General Assembly. Section 2. Inter-American Court of Human Rights Article 81 Upon the entry into force of this Convention, the Secretary General shall, in writing, request each State P to present, within nin arty ety days, its candidates for membership on the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. al order of the candidates presented and transmit it to arties at least thirty days prior to the next session of the General Assembly. The Secretary General shall prepare a list in alphabetic the States P