Commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 37: Prohibition of Torture, Death Penalty, Life Imprisonment and Deprivation of Liberty

109 Pages·2006·0.38 MB·English

by  William Schabas

Article 37
Prohibition of Torture, Death Penalty,
Life Imprisonment and Deprivation of Liberty

A Commentary on the United Nations Convention
on the Rights of the Child
Editors
André Alen, Johan Vande Lanotte, Eugeen Verhellen,
Fiona Ang, Eva Berghmans and Mieke Verheyde
Article 37
Prohibition of Torture, Death
Penalty, Life Imprisonment and
Deprivation of Liberty
By
William Schabas
Professor of Human Rights Law, National University of Ireland, Galway and
Director, Irish Centre for Human Rights
and
Helmut Sax
Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights, Vienna
MARTINUS NIJHOFF PUBLISHERS
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2006
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
A Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
Ang, Fiona.
Article 38 : children in armed conflicts / by Fiona Ang.
p. cm. — (A commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child,
ISSN 1574-8626 ; 38)
ISBN 90-04-14561-3 (acid-free paper)
1. Child soldiers—Legal status, laws, etc. 2. Children and war. I. Title. II. Commentary
on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child ; article 38.
K4725.A93 2005
342.08'772—dc22
2005051811
Cite as: W. Schabas and H. Sax, “Article 37. Prohibition of Torture, Death Penalty, Life
Imprisonment and Deprivation of Liberty”, in: A. Alen, J. Vande Lanotte, E. Verhellen, F. Ang,
E. Berghmans and M. Verheyde (Eds.) A Commentary on the United Nations Convention on
the Rights of the Child(Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Leiden, 2006).
ISSN 1574-8626
ISBN 90-04-14886-8
© 2006 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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CONTENTS
List of Abbreviations .................................................................................... vii
Author Biography ........................................................................................ ix
Text of Article 37 .......................................................................................... xi
Part I Prohibition of Torture, Prohibition of Death Penalty and Life
Imprisonment (Article 37(a))
William Schabas
Chapter One. Introduction .......................................................................... 1
Chapter Two. Comparison with Related International Human Rights
Provisions .................................................................................................. 3
Chapter Three. Scope of Article 37(a) ...................................................... 7
1. Drafting of Article 37(a) ...................................................................... 7
2. Reservations to Article 37(a) ............................................................ 10
3. Content of the Norm .......................................................................... 12
3.1 Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment ........................................................ 12
3.1.1 Torture ............................................................................ 13
3.1.2 Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment .................................................................... 16
3.1.3 Corporal Punishment .................................................... 21
3.2 Death Penalty .............................................................................. 24
3.3 Life Imprisonment ...................................................................... 30
Part II Deprivation of Liberty of Children (Article 37(b), (c), (d))
Helmut Sax
Chapter One. Introduction .......................................................................... 33
Chapter Two. Comparison with related international human rights
provisions .................................................................................................. 39
1. Universal Standards ............................................................................ 39
2. Regional Standards .............................................................................. 46
vi CONTENTS
Chapter Three. Scope of Article 37(b), (c), (d) ........................................ 51
1. Drafting History .................................................................................. 51
2. Deprivation of Liberty of Children .................................................. 56
2.1 Terms and Definitions .............................................................. 56
2.2 State Obligations in General .................................................... 63
2.2.1 Obligation to Respect .................................................... 64
2.2.2 Obligation to Protect .................................................... 65
2.2.3 Obligation to Fulfil ........................................................ 66
2.3 The CRC Context ........................................................................ 70
2.4 Legality and Non-Arbitrariness .............................................. 76
2.5 “As a measure of last resort” and “for the shortest
appropriate period of time” .................................................... 81
3. Conditions and Treatment during Deprivation of Liberty .......... 88
3.1 Treatment with Humanity and Respect for Human
Dignity and the Needs of the Child ........................................ 88
3.2 Separation of Children and Contact with the Family ........ 91
3.3 Review of Deprivation of Liberty-Assistance and Prompt
Decision ........................................................................................ 94
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ACHPR African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights 1981
Beijing Rules United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the
Administration of Juvenile Justice (‘The Beijing Rules’)
1985
CCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966
CESCR Committee UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
CRC International Convention on the Rights of the Child
1989
CRC Committee UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
ECHR European Convention on Human Rights 1950
ECtHR European Court of Human Rights
JDL Rules United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles
Deprived of their Liberty 1990
Riyadh Guidelines United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile
Delinquency (‘The Riyadh Guidelines’) 1990
Tokyo Rules United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-
custodial Measures (‘The Tokyo Rules’) 1990
UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948
UN United Nations

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
William A. Schabas is director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the
National University of Ireland, Galway, where he also holds the professor-
ship in human rights law. In the past he was professor at the law school of
the University of Quebec at Montreal, which he chaired for several years,
and a member of the Quebec Human Rights Tribunal. Professor Schabas
served as one of three international commissioners of the Sierra Leone
Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2002–04). He is a national of Canada.
Professor Schabas holds post-graduate degrees in history and in law from
universities in Canada. He is the author of twelve books and more than 150
articles dealing with such subjects as the abolition of capital punishment,
international criminal prosecution and issues of transitional justice, in
English and French. His writings have been translated into several languages,
including Russian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese and Albanian. He
has lectured around the world in the areas of international humanitarian
and human rights law, and been a frequent participant in human rights
fact-finding missions on behalf of international non-governmental organi-
sations. He is an Officer in the Order of Canada.
Helmut Sax is based at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights in
Vienna, Austria. Following his legal studies at Vienna University he gained
expertise in academic human rights legal research and training on a broad
range of issues, including economic, social and cultural rights, development
cooperation and structural aspects of domestic implementation of human
rights standards. For several years now his work focuses on human rights
of children, with emphasis on constitutional rights, child rights-based
approaches, child refugees, trafficking and violence against children.
Mr. Sax has served as an expert member to the Austrian delegation to
the UN GA Special Session on Children and he is also involved in its domes-
tic follow-up, including both the preparation of the 2004 National Plan of
Action for Children’s Rights in Austria, when he co-chaired one of its prepara-
tory working groups, and its current implementation process. Apart from
academic writing, lectures and training he has worked as a child rights con-
sultant, cooperating regularly with institutions, NGOs and National Coalitions.