<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The article analyzes the general concept of withdrawal from human rights treaties and addresses a specific case of withdrawal from the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The article argues that the human rights regime, due to its axiological nature, the non-reciprocal character of treaty parties’ relations, and the final beneficiaries´ expectations, needs <italic>lex specialis</italic> provisions on the withdrawal matters. Moreover, the results of analyses of the United Nations’ bodies show that the general clause on withdrawal being requested by a non-democratic state may lead to the denial of access to international justice for indivi duals and jeopardize the entire human rights protection system. Nowadays, however, the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties does not satisfy the needs of the human rights regime. The United Nations and its mandate holders are recommended to request an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice to clarify the compliance of the termination clause of the human rights treaties with the common values of the international society of states as a whole and the principles of the United Nations.</p>
</abstract>

The article analyzes the general concept of withdrawal from human rights treaties and addresses a specific case of withdrawal from the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The article argues that the human rights regime, due to its axiological nature, the non-reciprocal character of treaty parties’ relations, and the final beneficiaries´ expectations, needs lex specialis provisions on the withdrawal matters. Moreover, the results of analyses of the United Nations’ bodies show that the general clause on withdrawal being requested by a non-democratic state may lead to the denial of access to international justice for indivi duals and jeopardize the entire human rights protection system. Nowadays, however, the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties does not satisfy the needs of the human rights regime. The United Nations and its mandate holders are recommended to request an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice to clarify the compliance of the termination clause of the human rights treaties with the common values of the international society of states as a whole and the principles of the United Nations.

Withdrawal from a Human Rights Treaty and Peremptory Norms of International Law: The case of “Belarus 2020”

Associate Professor, Dr., European Humanities University, Vilnius

Baltic Journal of Law & Politics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The article analyzes the general concept of withdrawal from human rights treaties and addresses a specific case of withdrawal from the Optional Protocol to the...

Withdrawal from a Human Rights Treaty and Peremptory Norms of International Law: The case of “Belarus 2020”

Published Online: Jun 26, 2024

Page range: 70 - 92

Received: Sep 30, 2023

Accepted: Feb 19, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/bjlp-2024-0004

Keywords
Human rights, withdrawal from human rights treaties, Vienna Convention on the Law of treaties, Belarus, international law

© 2024 Liudmila Ulyashyna., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Withdrawal from a Human Rights Treaty and Peremptory Norms of International Law: The case of “Belarus 2020”

Published Online: Jun 26, 2024

Page range: 70 - 92

Received: Sep 30, 2023

Accepted: Feb 19, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/bjlp-2024-0004

KeywordsHuman rights, withdrawal from human rights treaties, Vienna Convention on the Law of treaties, Belarus, international law

© 2024 Liudmila Ulyashyna., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Human rights, withdrawal from human rights treaties, Vienna Convention on the Law of treaties, Belarus, international law