Study Guide: Human Rights Law applicability

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STUDY GUIDE TO THE ICJ ADVISORY OPINION ON THE ISRAELI WALL BEING BUILT IN PALESTINE

General Assembly request for the Advisory Opinion - articles 1 - 12, 18 - 23 (text & notes)

ICJ jurisdiction - articles 13 - 17, 24 - 31, 65 (text & notes)
ICJ summary of its Advisory Opinion - article 163 (text & notes)
ICJ member judges voting on the Opinion- article 163 (text & notes)

International humanitarian law, applicability of - articles 86 - 101 (text & notes)

International human rights law, applicability of - articles 102 - 113 (text & notes)

Israeli opposition to ICJ ruling on the wall - articles 33 - 64 (text & notes)
Israeli settlements, violaton of international law - article 99, 120 (text & notes)

Wall, legal consequences of - articles 144 - 162 (text & notes)
Wall, use of the term - article 67 (text & notes)
Wall, violation of international law - articles 115 - 142 (text & notes)

International Human Rights Law, applicability of (articles 102 - 113)

TEXT OF THE ADVISORY OPINION

NOTES ON THIS SECTION

102. The participants in the proceedings before the Court also disagree whether the international human rights conventions to which Israel is party apply within the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Annex I to the report of the Secretary General states:

"4. Israel denies that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, both of which it has signed, are applicable to the occupied Palestinian territory. It asserts that humanitarian law is the protection granted in a conflict situation such as the one in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, whereas human rights treaties were intended for the protection of citizens from their own Government in times of peace."

Of the other participants in the proceedings, those who addressed this issue contend that, on the contrary, both Covenants are applicable within the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

103. On 3 October 1991 Israel ratified both the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 19 December 1966 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of the same date, as well as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child of 20 November 1989. It is a party to these three instruments.

104. In order to determine whether these texts are applicable in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the Court will first address the issue of the relationship between international humanitarian law and human rights law and then that of the applicability of human rights instruments outside national territory.

105. In its Advisory Opinion of 8 July 1996 on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, the Court had occasion to address the first of these issues in relation to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In those proceedings certain States had argued that "the Covenant was directed to the protection of human rights in peacetime, but that questions relating to unlawful loss of life in hostilities were governed by the law applicable in armed conflict" (I.C.J. Reports 1996 (I), p. 239, para. 24).

The Court rejected this argument, stating that:

"the protection of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights does not cease in times of war, except by operation of Article 4 of the Covenant whereby certain provisions may be derogated from in a time of national emergency. Respect for the right to life is not, however, such a provision. In principle, the right not arbitrarily to be deprived of one's life applies also in hostilities. The test of what is an arbitrary deprivation of life, however, then falls to be determined by the applicable lex specialis, namely, the law applicable in armed conflict which is designed to regulate the conduct of hostilities." (Ibid., p. 240, para. 25.)

106. More generally, the Court considers that the protection offered by human rights conventions does not cease in case of armed conflict, save through the effect of provisions for derogation of the kind to be found in Article 4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. As regards the relationship between international humanitarian law and human rights law, there are thus three possible situations: some rights may be exclusively matters of international humanitarian law; others may be exclusively matters of human rights law; yet others may be matters of both these branches of international law. In order to answer the question put to it, the Court will have to take into consideration both these branches of international law, namely human rights law and, as lex specialis, international humanitarian law.

107. It remains to be determined whether the two international Covenants and the Convention on the Rights of the Child are applicable only on the territories of the States parties thereto or whether they are also applicable outside those territories and, if so, in what circumstances.

108. The scope of application of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is defined by Article 2, paragraph 1, thereof, which provides:

"Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status."

This provision can be interpreted as covering only individuals who are both present within a State's territory and subject to that State's jurisdiction. It can also be construed as covering both individuals present within a State's territory and those outside that territory but subject to that State's jurisdiction. The Court will thus seek to determine the meaning to be given to this text.

109. The Court would observe that, while the jurisdiction of States is primarily territorial, it may sometimes be exercised outside the national territory. Considering the object and purpose of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, it would seem natural that, even when such is the case, States parties to the Covenant should be bound to comply with its provisions.

The constant practice of the Human Rights Committee is consistent with this. Thus, the Committee has found the Covenant applicable where the State exercises its jurisdiction on foreign territory. It has ruled on the legality of acts by Uruguay in cases of arrests carried out by Uruguayan agents in Brazil or Argentina (case No. 52/79, López Burgos v. Uruguay; case No. 56/79, Lilian Celiberti de Casariego v. Uruguay). It decided to the same effect in the case of the confiscation of a passport by a Uruguayan consulate in Germany (case No. 106/81, Montero v. Uruguay).

The travaux préparatoires of the Covenant confirm the Committee's interpretation of Article 2 of that instrument. These show that, in adopting the wording chosen, the drafters of the Covenant did not intend to allow States to escape from their obligations when they exercise jurisdiction outside their national territory. They only intended to prevent persons residing abroad from asserting, vis à vis their State of origin, rights that do not fall within the competence of that State, but of that of the State of residence (see the discussion of the preliminary draft in the Commission on Human Rights, E/CN.4/SR.194, para. 46; and United Nations, Official Records of the General Assembly, Tenth Session, Annexes, A/2929, Part II, Chap. V, para. 4 (1955)).

110. The Court takes note in this connection of the position taken by Israel, in relation to the applicability of the Covenant, in its communications to the Human Rights Committee, and of the view of the Committee.

In 1998, Israel stated that, when preparing its report to the Committee, it had had to face the question "whether individuals resident in the occupied territories were indeed subject to Israel's jurisdiction" for purposes of the application of the Covenant (CCPR/C/SR.1675, para. 21). Israel took the position that "the Covenant and similar instruments did not apply directly to the current situation in the occupied territories" (ibid., para. 27).

The Committee, in its concluding observations after examination of the report, expressed concern at Israel's attitude and pointed "to the long standing presence of Israel in [the occupied] territories, Israel's ambiguous attitude towards their future status, as well as the exercise of effective jurisdiction by Israeli security forces therein" (CCPR/C/79/Add.93, para. 10). In 2003 in face of Israel's consistent position, to the effect that "the Covenant does not apply beyond its own territory, notably in the West Bank and Gaza . . .", the Committee reached the following conclusion:

"in the current circumstances, the provisions of the Covenant apply to the benefit of the population of the Occupied Territories, for all conduct by the State party's authorities or agents in those territories that affect the enjoyment of rights enshrined in the Covenant and fall within the ambit of State responsibility of Israel under the principles of public international law" (CCPR/CO/78/ISR, para. 11).

111. In conclusion, the Court considers that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is applicable in respect of acts done by a State in the exercise of its jurisdiction outside its own territory.

112. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights contains no provision on its scope of application. This may be explicable by the fact that this Covenant guarantees rights which are essentially territorial. However, it is not to be excluded that it applies both to territories over which a State party has sovereignty and to those over which that State exercises territorial jurisdiction. Thus Article 14 makes provision for transitional measures in the case of any State which "at the time of becoming a Party, has not been able to secure in its metropolitan territory or other territories under its jurisdiction compulsory primary education, free of charge".

It is not without relevance to recall in this regard the position taken by Israel in its reports to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In its initial report to the Committee of 4 December 1998, Israel provided "statistics indicating the enjoyment of the rights enshrined in the Covenant by Israeli settlers in the occupied Territories". The Committee noted that, according to Israel, "the Palestinian population within the same jurisdictional areas were excluded from both the report and the protection of the Covenant" (E/C.12/1/Add. 27, para. 8). The Committee expressed its concern in this regard, to which Israel replied in a further report of 19 October 2001 that it has "consistently maintained that the Covenant does not apply to areas that are not subject to its sovereign territory and jurisdiction" (a formula inspired by the language of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). This position, continued Israel, is "based on the well established distinction between human rights and humanitarian law under international law". It added: "the Committee's mandate cannot relate to events in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, inasmuch as they are part and parcel of the context of armed conflict as distinct from a relationship of human rights" (E/1990/6/Add. 32, para. 5). In view of these observations, the Committee reiterated its concern about Israel's position and reaffirmed "its view that the State party's obligations under the Covenant apply to all territories and populations under its effective control" (E/C.12/1/Add.90, paras. 15 and 31).

For the reasons explained in paragraph 106 above, the Court cannot accept Israel's view. It would also observe that the territories occupied by Israel have for over 37 years been subject to its territorial jurisdiction as the occupying Power. In the exercise of the powers available to it on this basis, Israel is bound by the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Furthermore, it is under an obligation not to raise any obstacle to the exercise of such rights in those fields where competence has been transferred to Palestinian authorities.

113. As regards the Convention on the Rights of the Child of 20 November 1989, that instrument contains an Article 2 according to which "States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the . . . Convention to each child within their jurisdiction . . .". That Convention is therefore applicable within the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Articles 102 - 113 - the ICJ rules that international human rights law is applicable to the Israeli occupation of adjacent Palestinian lands.

102. In conflict with the majority involved, Israel denies the applicability of international human rights law to the territories because it believes international human rights law is meant to apply only between citizens and their own government.

REFERS TO: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

103. The court notes that Israel has ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) in 1991, which are all three major instruments of international human rights law.

REFERS TO: International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966); International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966); United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989).

105. In 1996, the Court ruled that these instruments of international human rights law are applicable in both war and peacetime, but some provisions can be compromised during times of national emergency.

REFERS TO: Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, I.C.J. Reports 1996 (I), p. 239 (para.24), p. 240 (para.25); International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (1966) (art.4).

106. During wartime, provisions of humanitarian law and human rights law overlap.

REFERS TO: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (art.4).

107 - 109. The Court rules in agreement with the Human Rights Committee that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights applies to government actions outside their sovereign territories (for example when government agents arrest people in other countries).

REFERS TO: International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966); International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) (art.2 (para.1)); United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989); UN Human Rights Committee cases 52/79 López Burgos v. Uruguay & 56/79 Lilian Celiberti de Casariego v. Uruguay & 106/71 Montero v. Uruguay; Commission on Human Rights preliminary draft E/CN.4/SR.194, para. 46; United Nations, Official Records of the General Assembly, Tenth Session, Annexes, A/2929, Part II, Chap. V, para. 4 (1955).

110. In 2003, the Human Rights Committee also ruled that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights applied to the Palestinian occupied territories in response to a report to it from Israel where Israel states that it believes that the Covenant did not apply.

REFERS TO: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966); Human Rights Committee reports CCPR/C/SR.1675 (para. 21,27) & CCPR/C/79/Add.93 (para. 10) & CCPR/CO/78/ISR (para. 11).

111. "In conclusion, the Court considers that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is applicable in respect of acts done by a State in the exercise of its jurisdiction outside its own territory."

REFERS TO: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

112. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights mentions in one section (art. 14) that it applies in a party's "...metropolitan territory or other territories under its jurisdiction". But, in 1998, Israel sent a report to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights saying that this Covenant does not apply in the occupied territories because human rights law only applies within its own borders and that it does not apply in wartime situations. The ICJ disagrees with Israel for the same reasons as for the other Covenant (see discussion of Art. 106 above) - that provisions of international human rights law and international humanitarian law overlap during wartime. In addition, the prolonged nature of this occupation makes this reasoning even more compelling.

REFERS TO: International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (art.14); Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights reports E/C.12/1/Add. 27 (para. 8) & E/1990/6/Add. 32 (para. 5) & E/C.12/1/Add.90 (paras. 15 & 31).

113. "As regards the Convention on the Rights of the Child of 20 November 1989, that instrument contains an Article 2 according to which 'States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the . . . Convention to each child within their jurisdiction . . .'. That Convention is therefore applicable within the Occupied Palestinian Territory."

REFERS TO: Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989).

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