Declaration

Introduction to Declaration

Declaration, in law, an unsworn statement made by a party to a transaction or by one who has an interest in the facts recounted in the declaration.” (1)

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (udhr) in Election Law

The UDHR was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948. It was significant in the development of political participation as a universally accepted human right. Political participation, both as a voter and as a candidate/ representative, is linked to a number of other substantive human rights, without which it cannot be meaningfully exercised. These include freedoms of assembly, expression, association and movement. For example, there is no meaningful right to participate as a political representative if one’s party cannot be registered, one’s supporters cannot attend a rally and one’s opinions are not allowed to be published. The provisions of Article 21 lay down the foundations of the right to political participation.

Definition of Declaration

Within the context of international human rights, the following is a brief meaning of declaration: Document stating agreed upon standards but which is not legally binding. UN conferences, like the 1993 UN Conference on Human Rights in Vienna and the 1995 World Conference for Women in Beijing, usually produce two sets of declarations: one written by government representatives and one by Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs). The UN General Assembly often issues influential but legally Nonbinding declarations.

Declaration

Embracing mainstream international law, this section on declaration explores the context, history and effect of the area of the law covered here.

Declaration and Europe

There is an entry on declaration in the European legal encyclopedia.

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See Also

Further Reading

• Entry “Declaration” in the work “A Concise Encyclopedia of the European Union from Aachen to Zollverein”, by Rodney Leach (Profile Books; London)

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Further Reading

• The entry “declaration” in the Parry and Grant Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law (currently, the Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law, 2009), Oxford University Press

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See Also

• Human Rights

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See Also

• Election Law
• Electoral Laws
• Electoral Legislation

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Notes and References

• Information about Declaration in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to Declaration