Part I State Obligations and Rights Protected, Ch.II Civil and Political Rights, Art.4: Right to Life

Abstract

This chapter evaluates Article 4 of the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR), which protects the right to life and aims to regulate the death penalty. The Inter-American Court has held that the right to life is fundamental to the ACHR since the preservation of life and the effective protection of life are prerequisites for the enjoyment of other rights and freedoms. According to Article 27-2 of the ACHR, the right to life shall not be suspended in time of war, public danger, or other emergency that threatens the independence and security of a State Party. It is also protected by the other international human rights norms. An analysis of the human rights treaties reveals that all recognize it, but there is a fairly wide disparity in the wording of the norms. All the instruments also contain specific provisions on capital punishment, a restriction that has long been accepted as a legal restriction on life, which is now tending toward abolition.