About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

2001 N.Z. L. Rev. 125 (2001)
Intention and Effect: The Legal Status of the Final Views of the Human Rights Committee

handle is hein.journals/newzlndlr2001 and id is 149 raw text is: Intention and Effect: The Legal Status of the Final Views of the Human Rights Committee J S DAv[DSON* States party to the Optional Protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights recognise the competence of the United Nations Human Rights Committee to receive communications from individuals who claim that their rights have been violated. Although the final views of the Committee are often invoked in support of litigation under bills of rights in various countries, the legal status of these views has received little attention. It was initially accepted that the Committee's final views were not legally binding. However, the Committee has asserted a greater legal status for its views, and has explicitly declared them to be legally binding. Scott Davidson expresses reservations about this development, suggesting that it is unlikely to command the support of all states parties to the ICCPR given the Committee's current composition, procedures, and resource base. Regardless of the legal status of the Committee's views, however, it will be politically difficult to argue that they are not technically binding. The easiest means of avoiding difficulties concerning legal status of the decisions of the Committee is to promote vigorous debate about human rights within New Zealand, and for all of the branches of government to take their human rights responsibilities seriously. This article is based on a paper delivered at the Legal Research Foundation's conference Liberty, Equality, Community: Constitutional Rights in Conflict? (Auckland, 1999). It will also be published in a book of essays entitled: Litigating Rights: Perspectives from Domestic and International Law (Huscroft and Rishworth (eds), Oxford: Hart Publishing, forthcoming). * School of Law, the University of Hull.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most