Counterterrorism and the Comparative Law of Investigative Detenti ...

freedom of movement, residence, and immigration; freedom from slavery and forced labor; protection from torture, or cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment; and the right to life.³⁴

The provision of the ICCPR that most directly touches on the subject of investigative detention is article 9, the first paragraph of which states that

That same article goes on to spell out specific requirements that must be met when detaining an individual.

Another provision is article 14 of the ICCPR, which lays out the principal obligations regarding due process in criminal trials. Pursuant to article 14, state parties must ensure that criminal defendants receive a fair and public hearing before a “competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law.”³⁶ In addition, article 14 requires numerous substantive rights, such as the presumption of innocence, due process rights, and the right to appeal a conviction to a “higher tribunal according to law.”³⁷ States must also ensure that all persons are tried without undue delay.³⁸

Enforcement Mechanisms

A key part of the ICCPR is the establishment of the UN Human Rights Committee, an institution created to ensure that member states comply with their obligations pursuant to the ICCPR. The Human Rights Committee has two principal mechanisms at its disposal to encourage compliance with the ICCPR by member states:

(1) the review of periodic reports that member states must submit on measures they have taken to implement the rights delineated in the ICCPR, and

(2) an interstate complaint mechanism that allows member states to assert that another member state is not fulfilling its obligations under the ICCPR.³⁹

In addition, pursuant to an optional protocol, states may agree to allow the Human