[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 8



COUNCIL OF EUROPE:

Legal Eye: Death penalty regulations


No one shall be condemned to death or executed

Art. 2(2) EU Charter on Fundamental Rights According to the latest figures
from Amnesty International, more than 1,500 people were executed worldwide
in 2006, of which 91 percent of all documented executions occurred in just
6 countries: China, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, Sudan and the United States. At
more than 1,100 executions, China accounted for the largest number by far,
followed by Iran at 177, Pakistan at 82, Iraq and Sudan each at 65 and the
United States at 53.

The European Union, in contrast, had none. In fact, no execution has
occurred in any of the 47 member states of the Council of Europe for at
least 10 years, which includes not only the 27 EU member states, but also
the Russian Federation and adjoining countries, with the notable exception
of Belarus.

No legal basis

Contrary to popular opinion, the Treaty Establishing the European Union
(the "Treaty") does not in and of itself outlaw capital punishment. Actual
abolition is not formally codified under EU law, but rather is
"understood" as a condition of EU membership in a series of non-binding
treaties and unpublished acts. Many commentators mistakenly point to the
EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which was proclaimed by EU leaders at
the Nice Summit in 2000, as outlawing capital punishment. Yes, Art. 2
states that "no one shall be condemned to death or executed."

There's only one problem - the leaders at Nice never signed the document.
Although the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights may serve a political
purpose, it has no binding legal force upon member states. Supporters hope
to include the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights as an annex to the new EU
Constitution if and when it is placed back on the agenda for consideration
by member states following its earlier defeat in 2005 at the hand of
French and Dutch voters.

Look outside the EU

To find the legal basis for abolishing capital punishment in the European
Union, one needs to look outside the EU to another European organization,
the Council of Europe, which at last count numbered 47 member states. All
Council members have signed Protocol 6 of the European Convention on Human
Rights, which abolishes the death penalty. Russia, however, has not yet
ratified its earlier signature.

Signed into law by member states of the Council of Europe more than half a
century ago, in 1950, the European Convention on Human Rights originally
did not outlaw capital punishment, and in fact permitted each signatory
country to continue to apply the death penalty in case of a "conviction of
a crime for which the penalty is provided by law." This affirmatively
permitted the use of the death penalty, but Protocol 6 now abolishes the
right.

Not so fast

The Council of Europe is currently seeking the ratification of Protocol 13
to the European Convention on Human Rights in an effort to abolish the
death penalty in all circumstances. Apparently the previous ban did not
apply to executions in the time of war. So far 36 of the 47 Council of
Europe member states have signed and ratified Protocol 13, while seven
have signed but not yet ratified it, including France and Poland. Three
countries have so far refused to sign, let alone ratify Protocol 13, those
being Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

And the US?

In the United States 12 states have abolished the death penalty. The
remaining 38 states, together with the federal government and military,
permit the death penalty.

(source: Warsaw Business Journal)