The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Now in its third edition, this book is the authoritative text on one of the world's most important human rights treaties, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Covenant is of universal relevance. Adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1966 and in force from 1976, it commits the signatories and parties to respect the civil and political freedoms and rights of individuals. Monitored by the UN Human Rights Committee, the Covenant ratified by the majority of UN member states.
The book meticulously extracts and analyzes the jurisprudence over nearly forty years of the UN Human Rights Committee, on each of the various ICCPR rights, including the right to life, the right to freedom from torture, the right of freedom of religion, the right of freedom of expression, and the right to privacy, as well as admissibility criteria under the First Optional Protocol. Key miscellaneous issues, such as reservations, derogations, and denunciations, are also thoroughly assessed.
Comprehensively indexed and cross-referenced, this book offers elegant and straight-forward access to the jurisprudence of the Human Rights Committee and other UN human rights treaty bodies. Presented in a clear and illuminating manner, it will be of use to the judiciary, human rights practitioners, human rights activists, government institutions, academics, and students alike.

Sarah Joseph is Professor of Human Rights Law and Director of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law at Monash University in Melbourne. She has numerous publications on human rights, in areas such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, corporations and human rights, terrorism and human rights, self-determination, and now global trade and human rights. She is also an expert on Australian constitutional law, having co-written a leading text on that issue. She has taught human rights in many settings, both international and local, for over 15 years.
Melissa Castan is a Senior Lecturer and Deputy Director for the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law. Her teaching and research interests are Constitutional Law, Indigenous Legal Issues and Legal Education. She is co-author, with Professor Sarah Joseph, of Federal Constitutional Law: A Contemporary View (2006).

- Part I: Introduction - 1: Introduction - Part II: Admissibility Under the ICCPR - 2: The Ratione Temporis Rule - 3: The 'Victim' Requirement - 4: Territorial and Jurisdictional Limits - 5: Consideration Under Another International Procedure - 6: Exhaustion of Domestic Remedies - Part III: Civil and Political Rights - 7: The Right of Self-determination - Article 1 - 8: The Right to Life - Article 6 - 9: Freedom from Torture and Rights to Humane Treatment - Articles 7 and 10 - 10: Miscellaneous Rights - Articles 8, 11, 16 - 11: Freedom from Arbitrary Detention - Article 9 - 12: Freedom of Movement - Article 12 - 13: Procedural Rights Against Expulsion - Article 13 - 14: Right to a Fair Trial - Article 14 - 15: Prohibition of Retroactive Criminal Laws - Article 15 - 16: Right to Privacy - Article 17 - 17: Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion - Article 18 - 18: Freedom of Expression - Articles 19 and 20 - 19: Freedoms of Assembly and Association - Articles 21 and 22 - 20: Protection of the Family - Article 23 - 21: Protection of Children - Article 24 - 22: Rights of Political Participation - Article 25 - 23: Rights of Non-Discrimination - Articles 2(1), 3, and 26 - 24: Minority Rights - Article 27 - Part IV: Alteration of ICCPR Duties - 25: Reservations, Denunciations, Succession, and Derogations - Appendices - A: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - B: First Optional Protocol to the ICCPR - C: Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR - D: States Parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - E: States Parties to the First Optional Protocol - F: States Parties to the Second Optional Protocol - G: States which have made a Declaration under Article 41 of the Covenant - H: Members of the Human Rights Committee (Past and Present) - I: General Comments of the Human Rights Committee