PAIL Institute Publications

PAIL Institute Monograph Series

Human Rights in Crisis: The International System for Protecting Rights During States of Emergency

Author(s): Fitzpatrick, Joan

Hardcover - 352 pages (1994)
ISBN: 0-8122-3238-0

Price: US $45.00

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About This Publication

While there is no dearth of scholarly publications on states of emergency, most published material on the subject generally focuses on a particular study or on the effects of an emergency situation in a particular region or country. Human Rights in Crisis: The International System for Protecting Rights During States of Emergency is thoroughly global in scope and addresses the most recent developments in the field.

She begins by defining and categorizing various kinds of emergency situations, and then examines the adverse effects that such situations typically have on the protection of human rights and the rule of law in a particular society. The remainder of the book is devoted to an in-depth examination of the effectiveness of various treaty implementation bodies and other institutions in monitoring states of emergency.

Given Professor Fitzpatrick's exhaustive treatment of the subject, Human Rights in Crisis: The International System for Protecting Rights During States of Emergency should prove to be an invaluable source of information for students and practitioners of human rights law.

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About The Author(s)

Joan Fitzpatrick, former Professor of Law at the University of Washington and former Rapporteur to the Committee on the Enforcement of Human Rights Law of the International Law Association, was a respected scholar who has a particular expertise in the subject of states of emergency and their impact on the protection of human rights.

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Reviews

Richard B. Bilder and Jerome J. Shestack, American Journal of International Law
The principal focus of Professor Joan Fitzpatrick (of the University of Washington Law School) in Human Rights in Crisis is the monitoring of human rights abuses during states of emergency by United Nations treaty mechanisms, nontreaty bodies, regional systems and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). . . . She displays a masterful knowledge of the subject; her footnote references provide a valuable guide to particularized literature, and she writes with uncommon precision and lucidity. . . . For the students and human rights practitioners who wish a broad survey of how human rights are monitored in emergencies under UN and regional systems, this volume is a valuable guide. . . Most useful is Fitzpatrick's examination of the way in which human rights abuses in emergency situations are monitored within the UN system under treaty and nontreaty mechanisms. . . . Overall, Fitzpatrick's volume is a valuable addition to human rights literature.

American Journal of International Law
A valuable guide for the students and human rights practitioners who want a broad survey of how human rights are monitored in emergencies under UN and regional systems.

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Availability

Human Rights in Crisis: The International System for Protecting Rights During States of Emergency is available from:

University of Pennsylvania Press
P.O. Box 4836
Hampden Station
Baltimore, MD 21211

(800) 445-9880 (toll free)
(410) 516-6998 (fax)
e-mail: custserv@pobox.upenn.edu
website: http://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/

Additional order details can be obtained at: http://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/order/index.html

Human Rights in Crisis: The International System for Protecting Rights During States of Emergency is also available from Amazon.com.

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Table of Contents

	Editor's Foreword					ix
	Acknowledgments					xi
I.	Defining the Problem					1
	A.	Introduction				1
	B.	The ILA Study				3
	C.	The Questiaux Report				21
	D.	Rossiter's Comparative Historical Study				23
II.	Effects of Emergencies on Human Rights					29
	A.	Introduction				29
	B.	Changes in the Allocation of Powers				29
	C.	Violations of Non-Derogable Rights				35
	D.	Emergency Limitations on Other Fundamental Rights				36
	E.	Administrative Detention				38
III.	Setting Standards					50
	A.	Introduction				50
	B.	Treaty Standards				51
		1.	Severity			55
		2.	Notification and Proclamation			58
		3.	Good Faith Motivation			59
		4.	Other International Obligations			59
		5.	Proportionality			60
		6.	Non-Discrimination			61
		7.	Non-Derogable Rights			63
	C.	The Search for General Standards				66
		1.	Efforts to Identify Lex Lata			67
		2.	Treaty Interpretation			68
		3.	Conclusions to General Studies and Comprehensive Standards			70
		4.	Model Emergency Laws			77
IV.	The United Nations System: Treaty Organs					82
	A.	Introduction				82
	B.	The Human Rights Committee				82
	C.	The International Labour Organisation				106
	D.	The Committee Against Torture				112
V.	The United Nations System: Non-Treaty Mechanisms					115
	A.	Introduction				115
	B.	The Commission on Human Rights				116
		1.	The Resolution 1503 Procedure			116
		2.	Ad Hoc Investigations and Advisory Services			126
			a.	Chile		127
			b.	Equatorial Guinea		132
			c.	Guatemala		133
			d.	Bolivia		136
			e.	El Salvador		138
			f.	Poland		140
			g.	Afghanistan		142
			h.	Iran		145
			i.	Haiti		147
			j.	Inaction		148
		3.	Theme Mechanisms			152
			a.	Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances		153
			b.	Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions		159
			c.	Special Rapporteur on Torture		162
			d.	Special Rapporteurs on Religious Intolerance and Mercenaries		164
			e.	Working Group on Arbitrary Detention		164
		4.	Special Sessions of the Commission			166
	C.	The Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities				168
		1.	Special Rapporteur on States of Emergency			168
		2.	Abstract Studies			173
	D.	United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization				175
	E.	The Secretary-General and the Security Council				176
VI.	Regional Systems					178
	A.	The Organization of American States				178
		1.	The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights			178
			a.	Special Country Reports		178
			b.	On-Site Visits		180
			c.	Individual Complaints		185
			d.	Annual Reports		188
		2.	The Inter-American Court of Human Rights			190
	B.	The Council of Europe				193
		1.	The European Commission of Human Rights			193
		2.	The European Court of Human Rights			201
		3.	The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe			203
		4.	The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe			204
	C.	The Future for Europe				205
VII.	The Role of Non-Governmental Organizations					210
	A.	Introduction				210
	B.	The Role of the Press				212
	C.	The Roles of International and National NGOs				213
	D.	The International Committee of the Red Cross				218
VIII.	Conclusion					223
Appendix	The Queensland Guidelines for Bodies Monitoring Respect for Human Rights During States of Emergency					227
	Bibliography					233
	Table of Cases					249
	Index					253