Capital punishment, also called the death penalty, is the lawful killing of a convicted person by the state. It is among the most contested issues in international human rights law, sitting at the intersection of criminal justice, sovereignty, and the right to life.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), adopted in 1966, does not abolish capital punishment outright but restricts it in Article 6 to the "most serious crimes" and prohibits its imposition on persons under 18 or pregnant women. The Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1989, commits states parties to abolition.
Regional instruments go further. Protocol No. 6 (1983) and Protocol No. 13 (2002) to the European Convention on Human Rights abolish the death penalty in peacetime and in all circumstances respectively; abolition is a precondition for Council of Europe membership. The American Convention on Human Rights (1969) restricts its expansion, and the Protocol to the American Convention to Abolish the Death Penalty was adopted in 1990.
Since 2007, the UN General Assembly has repeatedly passed resolutions calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, though these are non-binding. According to Amnesty International's annual reporting, a majority of states have abolished capital punishment in law or practice, while a smaller group — including China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United States, and others — continue to carry out executions.
Key legal debates include:
- Whether certain methods constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment under Article 7 ICCPR or Article 3 ECHR.
- The "death row phenomenon", addressed by the European Court of Human Rights in Soering v. United Kingdom (1989), which barred extradition where prolonged death row conditions would breach Article 3.
- Application to juveniles, ruled unconstitutional in the US in Roper v. Simmons (2005).
- Use for drug offenses and other crimes that UN human rights bodies have said fall outside the "most serious crimes" threshold.
Example
In December 2007, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 62/149 calling for a global moratorium on executions, with 104 states voting in favor.
Frequently asked questions
No. There is no universal ban, but the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR (1989) commits its states parties to abolition, and the ICCPR itself restricts the death penalty to the 'most serious crimes.'
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