International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

 

Article 10

1. All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and
with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.

2. (a) Accused persons shall, save in exceptional circumstances, be
segregated from convicted persons and shall be subject to separate
treatment appropriate to their status as unconvicted persons;

(b) Accused juvenile persons shall be separated from adults and brought
as speedily as possible for adjudication.

3. The penitentiary system shall comprise treatment of prisoners the
essential aim of which shall be their reformation and social
rehabilitation. Juvenile offenders shall be segregated from adults and be
accorded treatment appropriate to their age and legal status.

Article 11

No one shall be imprisoned merely on the ground of inability to fulfil a
contractual obligation.

Article 12

1. Everyone lawfully within the territory of a State shall, within that
territory, have the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his
residence.

2. Everyone shall be free to leave any country , including his own.

3. The above-mentioned rights shall not be subject to any restrictions
except those which are provided by law, are necessary to protect national
security, public order (ordre public), public health or morals or the
rights and freedoms of others, and are consistent with the other rights
recognized in the present Covenant.

4. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own
country .

Article 13

An alien lawfully in the territory of a State Party to the present Covenant
may be expelled therefrom only in pursuance of a decision reached in
accordance with law and shall, except where compelling reasons of national
security otherwise require, be allowed to submit the reasons against his
expulsion and to have his case reviewed by, and be represented for the
purpose before, the competent authority or a person or persons especially
designated by the competent authority.

Article 14

1. All persons shall be equal before the courts and tribunals. In the
determination of any criminal charge against him, or of his rights and
obligations in a suit at law, everyone shall be entitled to a fair and
public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal
established by law. The Press and the public may be excluded from all or
part of a trial for reasons of morals, public order (ordre public) or
national security in a democratic society, or when the interest of the
private lives of the parties so requires, or to the extent strictly
necessary in the opinion of the court in special circumstances where
publicity would prejudice the interests of justice; but any judgement
rendered in a criminal case or in a suit at law shall be made public except
where the interest of juvenile persons otherwise requires or the
proceedings concern matrimonial disputes or the guardianship of children.

2. Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall have the right to be
presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.

3. In the determination of any criminal charge against him, everyone shall
be entitled to the following minimum guarantees, in full equality:

(a) To be informed promptly and in detail in a language which he
understands of the nature and cause of the charge against him;

(b) To have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his
defence and to communicate with counsel of his own choosing;

(c) To be tried without undue delay;

(d) To be tried in his presence, and to defend himself in person or
through legal assistance of his own choosing; to be informed, if he
does not have legal assistance, of this right; and to have legal
assistance assigned to him, in any case where the interests of
justice so require, and without payment by him in any such case if he
does not have sufficient means to pay for it;

(e) To examine, or have examined the witnesses against him and to obtain
the attendance and examination of witnesses on his behalf under the
same conditions as witnesses against him;

(f) To have the free assistance of an interpreter if he cannot understand
or speak the language used in court;

(g) Not to be compelled to testify against himself or to confess guilt.

4. ln the case of juvenile persons, the procedure shall be such as will
take account of their age and the desirability of promoting their
rehabilitation.

5. Everyone convicted of a crime shall have the right to his conviction and
sentence being reviewed by a higher tribunal according to law.

6. When a person has by a final decision been convicted of a criminal
offence and when subsequently his conviction has been reversed or he has
been pardoned on the ground that a new or newly discovered fact shows
conclusively that there has been a miscarriage of justice, the person who
has suffered punishment as a result of such conviction shall be compensated
according to law, unless it is proved that the non-disclosure of the
unknown fact in time is wholly or partly attributable to him.

7. No one shall be liable to be tried or punished again for an offence for
which he has already been finally convicted or acquitted in accordance with
the law and penal procedure of each country.

Article 15

1. No one shall be held guilty of any criminal offence on account of any
act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence, under national
or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a
heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time
when the criminal offence was committed. If, subsequent to the commission
of the offence, provision is made by law for the imposition of a lighter
penalty, the offender shall benefit thereby.

2. Nothing in this article shall prejudice the trial and punishment of any
person for any act or omission which, at the time when it was committed.
was criminal according to the general principles of law recognized by the
community of nations.

Article 16

Everyone shall have the right to recognition everywhere as a person before
the law.

Article 17

1. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his
privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his
honour and reputation.

2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such
interference or attacks.

Article 18

1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and
religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion
or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community
with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in
worship, observance, practice and teaching.

2. No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to
have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.

3. Freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs may be subject only to
such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect
public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and
freedoms of others.

4. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for
the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to ensure the
religious and moral Education of their children in conformity with their
own convictions.

 

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Education, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, country.