Rules of Procedure of the Committee on Enforced Disappearance Concerning Communications

Provisional Rules of Procedure of the Committee on Enforced Disappearance Concerning Communications

Rules of Procedure of the Committee on Enforced Disappearance Concerning Communications

CED/C/1/1 (June 2012)

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XI. Subsidiary bodies

Rule 41

Subsidiary bodies – Working groups and Rapporteurs

1. The Committee may establish subsidiary bodies such as working group(s) to expedite its work and assist in implementing its obligations under the Convention. The Committee shall define their composition and mandates. Each subsidiary body shall elect its own officers and will, mutatis mutandis, apply the present rules of procedure.

2. The Committee may also designate one or more of its members as Rapporteurs to assist it in any manner in which the Committee may decide including by making recommendations to the Committee.

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XVI. Conflicts of interest

Rule 47

Obligatory non-participation or non-presence of a member in the exercise of the functions of the Committee

1. A member shall not take part in the consideration of a report, a request for urgent action, an individual communication, an inter-state communication, a request for a visit or the information with indications of widespread or systematic enforced disappearances by the Committee or its subsidiary bodies if the member:

(a) Is a national of the State party concerned;

(b) Is employed by the State party concerned;

(d) Has directly participated in the drafting and adoption of any decision on the case or situation concerned in any capacity other than under the procedures under the Convention; or if any other conflict of interest is present.

2. Such a member shall not be present during any non-public consultations or meetings between the Committee and the national human rights institutions, non-governmental organizations, or any other entities referred to in rule 44, nor during the discussion and adoption of the respective concluding observations, views or any other decisions.

3. Any question that may arise under paragraph 1 above shall be decided by the Committee without the participation of the member concerned.

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XXI. Procedures for the consideration of communications received under article 31 of the Convention

Rule 65

Transmission of communications to the Committee

1. The Secretary-General shall bring to the attention of the Committee, in accordance with the present rules, communications that are, or appear to be, submitted for consideration by the Committee under article 31 of the Convention.

2. The Secretary-General may request clarification from the author(s) of a communication as to whether the communication is meant to be addressed to the Committee for consideration under article 31 of the Convention. Where there is doubt as to the wish of the author(s), the Secretary-General will bring the communication to the attention of the Committee.

3. No communication shall be received by the Committee if it:

(a) Concerns a State party to the Convention that has not made a declaration under article 31, paragraph 1, of the Convention;

(b) Is anonymous;

(c) Constitutes an abuse of the right of submission of such communications or is incompatible with the provisions of the Convention;

(d) The same matter is being examined under another procedure of international investigation or settlement of the same nature; or where

(e) All effective available domestic remedies have not been exhausted. This rule shall not apply where the application of the remedies is unreasonably prolonged.

Rule 66

Record and list of communications

1. The Secretary-General shall maintain a record of all communications submitted for consideration by the Committee under article 31 of the Convention.

2. The Secretary-General shall prepare a list of the communications registered by the Committee, together with a brief summary of their contents. The full text of any such communication may be made available in the language of submission, to any member of the Committee upon request by that member.

Rule 67

Request for clarification or additional information

1. The Secretary-General may request clarification from the author(s) of a communication, including:

(a) The name, address, date of birth and occupation of the alleged victim and verification of the victim’s/author’s identity;

(b) The name of the State party against which the communication is directed;

(d) The facts of the claim;

(e) Steps taken by the author(s) and/or alleged victim(s) to exhaust domestic remedies;

(f) The extent to which the same matter is being examined under another procedure of international investigation or settlement of the same nature;

(g) The provision or provisions of the Convention alleged to have been violated.

2. When requesting clarification or information, the Secretary-General shall indicate to the author(s) of the communication a time limit within which such information should be submitted.

3. The Committee may approve a questionnaire to facilitate requests for clarification or information from the victim(s) and/or author(s) of a communication.

Rule 68

Authors of communications

Communications may be submitted by individual(s), subject to the jurisdiction of a State party, claiming to be victim(s) of a violation of the provisions of the Convention by this State party, or by their designated representatives, or by others acting on behalf of the alleged victim(s).

Rule 69

Withdrawal of a member

If, for any reason, a member considers that she or he should not take part or continue to take part in the examination of a communication, the member shall inform the Chairperson of her or his withdrawal.

Rule 70

Interim measures

1. At any time after the receipt of a communication and before a determination on the merits has been reached, the Committee may transmit to the State party concerned, for its urgent consideration, a request that it take such interim measures as the Committee considers necessary to avoid possible irreparable damage to the victim(s) of the alleged violations.

2. The Committee may designate a Rapporteur or a Working Group who may on behalf of the Committee request the State party concerned to take such interim measures as the Rapporteur or Working Group considers necessary to avoid possible irreparable damage to the victim(s) of the alleged violation. The Rapporteur or Working Group shall thereafter inform the Committee of the nature of the request and the communication to which it relates.

3. When the Committee, a Rapporteur or the Working Group request interim measures under this rule, the request shall state that it does not imply a determination on admissibility or on the merits of the communication.

4. The State party may present arguments at any stage of the proceedings on why the request for interim measures should be lifted or is no longer justified.

5. The Committee, a Rapporteur or the Working Group may withdraw a request for interim measures on the basis of information received from the State party and the author(s) of the communication.

Rule 71

Order of communications

1. Communications shall be dealt with in the order in which they are received by the Secretary-General/Secretariat, unless the Committee, the Working Group or a Rapporteur decides otherwise.

2. The Committee may decide to consider two or more communications jointly.

3. The Committee may divide a communication and consider it separately, if it sets forth distinct facts, or if it refers to more than one person or to alleged violations not interconnected in time and place.

Rule 72

Admissibility of communications

1. The Committee shall, by a simple majority and in accordance with the following rules, decide whether the communication is admissible or inadmissible under article 31, paragraph 1 and 2, of the Convention.

2. The decision to declare a communication admissible may be taken by the Working Group provided that all its members so agree.

3. The Working Group or the Rapporteur may declare a communication inadmissible provided that all its members so decide. The decision is to be transmitted to the Committee plenary, which may confirm it without formal discussion.

4. Any Committee member may request a plenary discussion to examine the communication and take a decision on its admissibility.

Rule 73

Procedures with regard to communications received

1. As soon as possible after the receipt of a communication, and provided that the Committee considers that the communication meets the requirements set out in paragraph 2 of article 31 of the Convention, the Committee, the Working Group or a Rapporteur shall transmit the communication confidentially to the State party concerned and request that the State party provide written observations and comments.

2. Any request made in accordance with paragraph 1 of the present rule shall include a statement indicating that such a request does not imply that any decision has been reached on the question of admissibility or the merits of the communication.

3. Within a period of four months after receipt of the Committee’s request under the present rule, the State party shall submit to the Committee written explanations or statements that relate to the admissibility and the merits of the communication, as well as to any remedy that may have been provided in the matter.

4. The Committee, the Working Group or a Rapporteur may request written explanations or statements that relate only to the admissibility of a communication but, in such cases, the State party may nonetheless submit written explanations or statements that relate to both the admissibility and the merits of a communication within the period established by the Committee.

5. A State party that has received a request for a written reply in accordance with paragraph 1 of the present rule may submit a request in writing that the communication be rejected as inadmissible, setting out the grounds for such inadmissibility, provided that such a request is submitted to the Committee within two months of the request made under paragraph 1.

6. On the basis of the information provided by the State party to support its request under paragraph 4, the Committee, the Working Group or a Rapporteur may decide to consider the admissibility separately from the merits.

7. Submission by the State party of a request in accordance with paragraph 5 of the present rule shall not extend the period of four months given to the State party to submit its written explanations or statements, unless the Committee, the Working Group or a Rapporteur decides to consider the admissibility separately from the merits.

8. If the State party concerned disputes the allegations of the author(s), in accordance with article 31, paragraph 2 (d), of the Convention, that all effective available domestic remedies have been exhausted, the State party shall give details of the effective remedies available to the alleged victim or victims in the particular circumstances of the case.

9. The Committee, the Working group or a Rapporteur may request the State party or the author of the communication to submit, within fixed time limits, additional written explanations or observations relevant to the merits of a communication.

10. The Committee, the Working group or a Rapporteur shall transmit to each party the submissions made by the other party pursuant to the present rule and shall afford each party an opportunity to comment on those submissions within fixed time limits.

Rule 74

Inadmissible communications

1. Where the Committee decides that a communication is inadmissible, it shall, as soon as possible, communicate its decision and the reasons for it, through the Secretary-General, to the author(s) of the communication and to the State party concerned.

2. A decision of the Committee declaring a communication inadmissible may be reviewed by the Committee upon receipt of a written request submitted by or on behalf of the author(s) indicating that the reasons for inadmissibility no longer apply.

Rule 75

Communications declared admissible prior to the submission of the State party’s observations on merits

1. Decisions declaring a communication admissible prior to the submission of the State party’s observations on merits, in accordance with rule 73, paragraph 5, of the present rules, shall be transmitted, through the Secretary-General, to the author(s) of the communication and to the State party concerned.

2. The Committee may revoke its decision that a communication is admissible in the light of any explanation or statements submitted by the State party and the author(s).

Rule 76

Examination of communications on their merits

1. At any time after the receipt of a communication and before a determination on the merits has been reached, the Committee, the Working Group or a Rapporteur, may consult, as appropriate, relevant documentation emanating from all relevant United Nations organs, bodies, specialized agencies, funds, programmes and mechanisms, including the other treaty bodies instituted by international instruments and the special procedures of the United Nations, and other international organizations, including the relevant regional intergovernmental organizations or bodies as well as all relevant State institutions, agencies or offices that may assist in the examination of the communication, provided that the Committee shall afford each party an opportunity to comment on such third party documentation or information within fixed time limits.

2. The Committee shall formulate its Views on the communication in the light of all information made available to it by the author(s) of the communication, by the State party concerned, or by any other sources referred to in paragraph 1 of the present rule, provided that this information has been duly transmitted to the parties concerned.

3. Consideration by the Committee of information submitted by third parties, pursuant to paragraph 1 of the present rule, does not in any way imply that these third parties become a party to the proceedings.

4. The Committee may refer any communication to a Working Group to make recommendations to the Committee on the merits of the communication.

5. The Committee shall not decide on the merits of the communication without having considered the applicability of all of the admissibility grounds referred to in article 31, paragraphs 1 and 2, of the Convention.

6. The Committee shall, through the Secretary-General, communicate its Views, together with any recommendations, to the State party concerned and to the author(s) of the communication.

Rule 77

Individual opinions

Any member of the Committee who has participated in the decision may request that the text of her or his individual opinion be appended to the Committee’s decision or Views. The Committee may fix time limits for the submission of such individual opinions.

Rule 78

Discontinuation of communications

The Committee may discontinue consideration of a communication, inter alia when the reasons for its submission for consideration under the Convention have become moot.

Rule 79

Follow-up to Views of the Committee

1. Within six months of the Committee’s transmittal of its Views on a communication the State party concerned shall submit to the Committee a written response, including any information on any action taken in the light of the Views and recommendations of the Committee.

2. After the six-month period referred to in paragraph 1 of the present rule, the Committee may invite the State party concerned to submit further information about any measures the State party has taken in response to its Views or recommendations.

3. The Committee shall, through the Secretary-General, transmit the information received from the State party to the author(s) of the communication.

4. The Committee shall designate a Rapporteur or Working Group for follow-up on Views to ascertain the measures taken by States parties to give effect to the Committee’s Views and recommendations.

5. The Rapporteur or Working Group may make such contacts and take such action as may be appropriate for the due performance of their assigned functions and shall make such recommendations for further action by the Committee as may be necessary.

6. In addition to written representations, meetings with duly accredited representatives of the State party, a Working Group or Rapporteur may seek information from the author(s) and victim(s) of the communications and other relevant sources.

7. The Rapporteur or Working Group shall report to the Committee on follow-up activities at each session of the Committee.

8. The Committee shall include information on follow-up activities in its annual report under article 36 of the Convention.

Rule 80

Confidentiality of communications

1. Communications submitted under the Convention shall be examined by the Committee, a Working Group or Rapporteur in closed meetings.

2. All working documents prepared by the Secretariat for the Committee, a Working Group or Rapporteur shall be confidential unless the Committee decides otherwise.

3. The Secretary-General, the Committee, a Working Group or Rapporteur shall not make public any communication, submissions or information relating to a communication prior to the date on which a decision on inadmissibility or Views is issued. This is without prejudice of the Committee’s prerogatives under article 28 of the Convention.

4. The Committee may decide ex officio, upon request of the author(s) or alleged victim(s) or the State party concerned, that the names of the author(s) of a communication or the individuals who are alleged to be the victim(s) of a violation of provisions of this Convention not be published in its inadmissibility decision or Views.

5. The Committee, a Working Group or Rapporteur may request the author of a communication or the State party concerned to keep confidential the whole or part of any submission or information relating to the proceedings.

6. Subject to paragraphs 4 and 5 of the present rule, nothing in this rule shall affect the right of the author(s), alleged victim(s) or the State party concerned to make public any submission or information bearing on the proceedings.

7. Subject to paragraphs 4 and 5 of the present rule, the Committee’s decisions on inadmissibility and Views shall be made public.

8. The Secretariat shall be responsible for the distribution of the Committee’s final decisions to the author(s) and the State party concerned.

9. Unless the Committee decides otherwise, information related to follow-up to the Committee’s Views and recommendations shall not be confidential.

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The United Nations Human Rights Treaties

Provisional Rules of Procedure of the Committee on Enforced Disappearance Concerning Communications