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47 German Y.B. Int'l L. 545 (2004)
Derogation Measures under Article ICCPR, with Special Consideration of the War against International Terrorism

handle is hein.journals/gyil47 and id is 546 raw text is: Derogation Measures under Article 4 ICCPR, with Special Consideration of the 'War Against International Terrorism' By Angelika Siehr A. Introduction' Article 4 is a key provision of the International Covenant on Civil and Politi- cal Rights (ICCPR or the Covenant)2 and its implementation is a touchstone for the crucial question whether human rights are taken seriously in the most crit- ical of situations: in a state of public emergency. Since Article 4 ICCPR regu- lates the (admittedly paradoxical) possibility of legally suspending the exercise of certain human rights as the only means of guaranteeing the effective enjoy- ment of the most fundamental ones,3 it is obvious that this provision is open to abuse. Indeed, experience shows that public emergencies are commonly charac- 1 The first part of this article has been presented at the EU-China Dialogue Seminar on Human Rights, 8-9 November 2004, The Hague, Netherlands, cf Angelika Siehr, State Practice with Respect to Derogations, available in English and Chinese at: http:// www.eu-china-humanrights.org/seminars/ds0411 .php. 2 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, GA Res. 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 1966 (entered into force on 23 March 1976). ' Cf The Administration of Justice and the Human Rights of Detainees: Question of Human Rights and States of Emergency. Tenth annual report and list of states which, since 1 January 1985, have proclaimed, extended or terminated a state of emergency, presented by Mr. Leandro Despouy, Special Rapporteur appointed pursuant to Eco- nomic and Security Council (ESOSOC) resolution 1985/37, UN Doc. E/CN.4/Sub.2/ 1997/19, para. 42. See also Ralph Alexander Lorz, Possible Derogations from Civil and Political Rights under Art. 4 of the ICCPR, Israel Yearbook on Human Rights, vol. 33, 2003, 85. For other paradoxical aspects of the implementation of universal human rights through nation States and the attempts of public international law to cope with the problems which arise out of that situation, see Angelika Siehr, Die Deutschenrechte des Grundgesetzes. Btirgerrechte im Spannungsfeld von Menschenrechtsidee und Staatsmit- gliedschaft, 2001, 132 et seq., 142 et seq., 147 et seq., 302 et seq.

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