The Abolition of the Death Penalty in International Law

This is the 2002 third edition of William A. Schabas's highly praised study of the abolition of the death penalty in international law. Extensively revised to take account of developments in the field since publication of the second edition in 1997, the book details the progress of the international community away from the use of capital punishment, discussing in detail the abolition of the death penalty within the United Nations human rights system, international humanitarian law, European human rights law and Inter-American human rights law. New chapters in the third edition address capital punishment in African human rights law and in international criminal law. An extensive list of appendices contains many of the essential documents for the study of capital punishment in international law. The Abolition of the Death Penalty in International Law is introduced with a Foreword by Judge Gilbert Guillaume, President of the International Court of Justice.

Foreword; Preface to the Third Edition; Table of cases; Table of International Instruments; Abbreviations; Introduction; 1. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Recognition of the Right to Life; 2. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: drafting, ratification and reservation; 3. Interpretation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; 4. Towards abolition: the Second Optional Protocol and other developments in the United Nations; 5. International humanitarian law; 6. International criminal law; 7. European human rights law; 8. Inter-American human rights law; 9. African human rights law; Conclusion; Appendices: I. Universal Declaration of Human Rights; II. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; III. Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; IV. Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Aimed at Abolition of the Death Penalty; V. General Comment 6(16) (excerpts); VI. Convention against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; VII. Convention on the Rights of the Child; VIII. Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty; IX. Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War; X. Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilians; XI. Protocol Additional I to the 1949 Geneva Conventions and Relating to The Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts; XII. Protocol Additional II to the 1949 Geneva Conventions and Relating to The Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts; XIII. Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; XIV. Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; XV. Protocol No. 6 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms Concerning the Abolition of the Death Penalty; XVI. Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; XVII. European Union Minimum Standards Paper; XVIII. Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Commitments; XIX. American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man; XX. American Convention on Human Rights; XXI. Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights to Abolish the Death Penalty; XXII. African Charter of Human and Peoples' Rights; XXIII. African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child; XXIV. Arab Charter on Human Rights; Bibliography; Index.