International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights came into force on March 23, 1976.
Till 2019 it had 173 signatory countries. This covenant consists of 53 Articles and is divided
into 6 parts. ICCPR protects rights like the right to life, liberty, fair trial, freedom of speech
and expression, etc.
The purpose of forming ICCPR was to recognize the inherent dignity of each individual
and undertake to promote conditions within states to allow the enjoyment of civil and
political rights. The main intention behind forming ICCPR was to strengthen the legal
bases of Human Rights. The fact that UDHR is not legally enforceable, and ICCPR on the
other hand, is legally enforceable; the signatory countries that have ratified this covenant
and now under the obligation to abide by the Articles mentioned under ICCPR and any
violation of these right are considered, as punishable offences. Any report, if made by an
individual or by an organization regarding of violation of any human rights made by their
state, shall be investigated. Article 28 of ICCPR states that there should be a Human Rights
Committee which shall perform different functions, like making reports, enforcing the
rights, etc. Article 40 and 41 of ICCPR indicates how the reports are to be formed and to
whom it should be submitted, and what are the things that should be mentioned in the
report.
ICCPR and Indian Constitution
• Article 1– provides that the states that the right to self-determination is universal
and calls upon States to promote the realization of that right and to respect it.
• Article 2– each state party must respect and ensure that the rights provided
under this covenant is enforced and the rights are provided to each and every
individual of the state irrespective of their race, gender, caste, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinions. The article further provides that every
individual whose rights are violated should be provided with a suitable remedy.
• Article 6, 7 and 8 –protecting the individual against any death penalty, in India
the death penalty still prevails. In Bachchan Singh v. the State of Punjab, the
Supreme Court observed that the provisions for the capital punishment under
section 302 IPC are not violative of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, though
Article 72 of the Indian Constitution gives the President the power to grant a
pardon, remit or commute a sentence of any person convicted of any offence
under this law. Article 7 prohibits human degrading punishment, cruel treatment,
and Article 8 protects every individual against the slave trade or forced labor.
• Article 9– protects the individual against arbitrary arrest or detention.
• Article 10– states that no matter whether the person has committed the crime or
not he should be treated with respect and dignity. In Charles Shobraj v.
Superintendent, Central Jail, Tihar, New Delhi, AIR 1978, the apex court
recognized that the ‘right to life’ is more than mere animal existence or vegetable
substance. Even in prison, a person is required to be treated with dignity and one
enjoys all the rights specified in Article 19 and 21. Article 10 also provides that
the state should also set up juvenile prisons.
• Article 11- protects the individual against breach of contract, in Jolly George
Verghese v. Bank of Cochin, AIR 1980[11], it was held by the Supreme Court that
to cast a person in prison because of his poverty and consequent inability to
meet his contractual liability is a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution.
• Article 12- provides freedom of movement and freedom to reside anywhere in
the state and the right to travel to different countries. The Supreme Court in
Satwant Singh v. Assistant Passport Officer, New Delhi, AIR 1967, SC 1836, held
that the right to go abroad is a part of the ‘personal liberty’ within the meaning
of Article 21 of the Constitution, and consequently, no person can be deprived of
this right except according to procedure deprived of this right except according
to the procedure established by law. Again, in Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India,
AIR 1978, 597, the Supreme Court upheld the decision of Satwant Singh’s case,
the court held that no person can be deprived of his right to go abroad unless
there is a law made by the State prescribing the procedure for so depriving him
and the deprivation is effected strictly in accordance with such procedure[12].
• Article 14- ensure that every individual is equal before the law. And every
individual has the right to a fair trial, conducted by an independent and impartial
tribunal. The article also provides that the press or public may be excluded during
the trial for maintaining morals, public order and security. Article 20 of the Indian
Constitution strongly supports the idea of fair trial, so that every individual gets
the opportunity to be heard.
• Article 18 and 19- establishes freedom of religion. Article 19 of ICCPR provides
freedom of speech and expression. In Secretary Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting, Govt. of India v. Cricket Association of Bengal, 1995, the Supreme
Court held that right to impart and receive information is a species of the right to
freedom of speech and expression.
• Article 21 and 22 – states that every individual has the right of peaceful
assembly and shouldn’t be restricted to enforce their rights until and unless it is
 in conformity with the law and doesn’t disturb the public order and security of
the society. Similarly, Article 22 states that every person has the right to form an
association and join trade union, again it should be in conformity with law and
shouldn’t violate the rights of others.
There are different rights mentioned under ICCPR which are similar to the rights provided
in the Indian Constitution, and they are:
i) Equality of Opportunity to public service- Article 25(c)
ii) Right to move freely within the territory of a state- Article 22(1)
iii) Protection in respect of conviction of offences- Article 15(1)
iv) Protection from prosecution and punishment- Article 14(7)
v) Not to be compelled to testify against himself- Article 14(3) (g)

Articles Details
of ICCPR
Article 1 This article recognizes the right of all peoples to self-determination, including the
right to “freely determine their political status”, pursue their economic, social and
cultural goals, and manage and dispose of their own resources.
Articles 2 These articles allow signatories to develop legislation to effectuate the rights
–5 recognized in the Covenant, and to provide a legal remedy in case of violation of such
rights.
Articles 6 These articles contain rights such as the guarantee of physical integrity as in right to
– 27 life and freedom from torture and slavery, freedom from unlawful arrest, right to
habeas corpus and guarantee of individual liberty and security, fairness in law and its
procedure through the rights to due process, fair and impartial trial, the presumption
of innocence, freedoms of moment, thought, religion association, conscience,
assembly, right to privacy and right to a nationality, disallowing propaganda for war
and religious purposes as well as advocacy of national or religious hatred that will
result in violence or hostility, political participation, including the right to the right to
vote, and equality before the law, no discrimination on grounds of anyone being a
minority or not.
Articles These articles establish the guidelines for how the Human Rights Committee will
28 – 45 operate, as well as the reporting and monitoring of the Covenant. It also enables the
signatories to recognize the authority of the committee to resolve the disputes
between signatories on the implementation of the ICCPR.
Articles Articles 46 – 47 state that the provisions of the ICCPR do not mean that signatories
46 – 47 will interfere with the operation of the United Nations or “the inherent right of all
peoples to enjoy and utilize full and freely their natural wealth”
 Articles These articles govern the ratification, entry into force, and amendment of the
48 – 53 Covenant.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee is responsible for overseeing the implementation of
the ICCPR. This committee reviews the reports of signatories on the effectiveness of their
implementation of fundamental rights. The signatories to the ICCPR are required to submit reports
within a year of acceding to the Covenant, and then whenever the committee requires. The
Committee holds its sessions in Geneva, Switzerland, three times per year.

The origins of the ICCPR can be traced back to the same process that led to the creation of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Initially, the document was split into a declaration outlining
general principles of human rights, and a convention or covenant containing binding commitments.
The former evolved into the UDHR and was adopted on 10 December 1948 .

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