| Admissibility |
The stage of an individual complaint procedure at which the
judicial or quasi-judicial body decides if the right conditions are present for it to be
able to examine a complaint. If a complaint is inadmissible, it cannot be examined
any further. |
| Allegation (of torture) |
A claim (as yet neither proved nor disproved) that an
incident of torture has occurred. |
| Amicus curiae
brief |
A submission by a non-party to judicial proceedings which is
designed to inform the judicial body about a specific matter relating to the proceedings. |
| Applicant |
Person making an application under an individual complaint
procedure. |
| Application |
Letter or other form of submission asking a judicial body to
consider a case under an individual complaint procedure. |
| Asylum |
Asylum is sought by individuals who do not wish to return to
a country, usually their own, where they are at risk. If granted, it means being allowed
to remain in a country which is not their own. It may be temporary or permanent. |
| Breach (of obligations) |
See VIOLATION |
| Charter |
See TREATY |
| Communication |
Letter or other form of submission transmitting information
to an international body. The term is often used within the UN to refer to applications
under an individual complaint procedure. The person who writes a communication is often
referred to as the author of the communication. |
| Competence |
See JURISDICTION (of a judicial
body) |
| Complainant |
Person making a complaint under an individual complaint
procedure. |
| Consultative status |
NGOs can apply to the UN for consultative status - this means
that they are officially registered as an organisation which the UN can consult. NGOs with
consultative status have certain privileges over other NGOs, such as being allowed to
attend sessions of the UN Commission on Human Rights. |
| Convention |
See TREATY |
| Corroboration |
Evidence which supports or confirms the truth of an
allegation. |
| Court judgment |
Legally-binding decision in which a court expresses its
conclusions in a case. |
| Covenant |
See TREATY |
| Declaration |
International law document which is not legally-binding, but
sets out standards which states undertake to respect. |
| Deportation |
Expulsion from a country. |
| Domestic law or legal system |
National law or legal system; law or legal system which is
specific to a particular country. |
| Enforcement (of obligations) |
Making the obligations effective; ensuring that they are
respected. |
| Entry into force (of a treaty) |
The moment at which treaty obligations begin to apply. |
| Extra-judicial (e.g. execution) |
Not imposed by a judge or following a legal process. |
| Fact-finding |
Carrying out an investigation to discover the facts. |
| Gross violations of human rights |
Particularly serious violations of human rights, such as
torture or extra-judicial killing. |
| Implementation (of obligations) |
The way in which obligations are carried out or respected, or
measures aimed at achieving this. |
| Impunity |
Being able to avoid punishment for illegal or undesirable
behaviour. |
| Incommunicado detention |
Being held by the authorities without being allowed any
contact with the outside world, and/or without the detention being acknowledged. |
| Individual complaint |
A complaint relating to a specific set of facts affecting an
individual or individuals. |
| Instrument |
A general term to refer to international law documents,
whether legally binding or not. |
| Inter-governmental body |
A body or organisation composed of the governmental
representatives of more than one country. |
| Judicial procedure |
A procedure before a judicial body. |
| Jurisdiction (of a state) |
Area or persons over which a state exercises its authority. |
| Jurisdiction (of a judicial body) |
Matters which fall within the jurisdiction of a judicial or
quasi-judicial body are those which it is has the power to examine. This may also be
referred to as being competent to examine a matter. |
| Leave (e.g. seeking leave to submit an amicus curiae brief) |
Permission. |
| Legally-binding |
If something is legally-binding on a state, this means that
the state is obliged to act in accordance with it, and there may be legal consequences if
it does not do so. e.g. the state can be brought before an international court and ordered
to pay compensation to a victim. |
| Litigation |
The process of bringing and conducting a case before a court. |
| Lodging a complaint |
Registering a complaint. |
| Mandate |
The source of the powers of a mechanism - the document which
explains what the mechanism is authorised to do. |
| Merits |
The stage of an individual complaint procedure at which the
judicial body examines the facts of a case and decides if a violation has occurred. |
| Monitoring |
Seeking and receiving information for the purpose of
reporting on a subject or situation. |
| Non-governmental actors |
Private persons acting independently of the authorities. |
| Observations |
Comments, assessment. |
| Perpetrator |
The person who has carried out an act. |
| Petition |
Request for action, e.g. request for a matter to be
investigated. |
| Provisional measures |
Temporary measures which can be requested by a judicial or
quasi-judicial body before having completed its consideration of a case, in order to avoid
irreparable damage. |
| Quasi-judicial procedure |
A procedure before a body which considers cases in a similar
way to a judicial body, but which is not composed of judges and the decisions of which are
not legally-binding. |
| Ratification |
The process through which a state agrees to be bound by a
treaty. |
| Recommendation |
A suggested course of action. Recommendations are not
legally-binding. |
| Reparation |
Measures to repair damage caused. |
| Reservation |
At the time of agreeing to be bound by a treaty, a state can
register a reservation: a statement which modifies its obligations under the treaty
in some way. |
| Resolution |
Official decision of an international body, often adopted
through a vote. It is usually a recommendation and therefore not legally binding. |
| Rules of procedure |
The detailed rules which a judicial or quasi-judicial body
adopts, setting out the way in which proceedings before it should be carried out. |
| Sanction |
A penalty imposed for a state's failure to respect its
legal obligations. |
| State responsibility |
Holding a state accountable under international law. |
| State Party (to a treaty) |
State which has agreed to be bound a treaty. |
| Submission |
See COMMUNICATION/APPLICATION |
| Supervisory body |
A body set up to supervise the ways in which states implement
their obligations under a treaty. |
| Third party intervention |
See AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF |
| Transmission (of an allegation) |
Sending the allegation, e.g. to the state concerned. |
| Treaty |
International law document which sets out legally-binding
obligations for states. |
| Treaty article |
The term used to refer to individual sections of a treaty. |
| Treaty body |
A body set up by a treaty. |
| Violation (of obligations) |
Failure by a state to respect its obligations under
international law. |
