A Human Rights-Based Approach to Criminal Law, including the Decriminalization of Conduct Associated with Poverty and Status. a practitioners' guide ; International Commission of Jurists / (Both Hardcopy and Softcopy)

Includes bibliographical references

INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................ 1
1. Background........................................................................................................................ 1
2. Purpose and structure of the Practitioners’ Guide ............................................................3
CHAPTER I: CRIMINAL LAW PRINCIPLES AND INTERNATIONAL HUMAN
RIGHTS LAW AND STANDARDS..............................................................................................5
1. General principles of criminal law...................................................................................... 7
2. Criminal law and international human rights law and standards..................................... 13
3. Guiding questions on applying the general principles of criminal liability and
international human rights law and standards.............................................................. 18
CHAPTER II: INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL LAW AND STANDARDS ON THE
CRIMINALIZATION OF CONDUCT ASSOCIATED WITH POVERTY AND STATUS ..........24
1. International human rights law and standards on the criminalization of conduct
associated with poverty and status................................................................................... 25
1.1. Criminalization of poverty and status violates human rights.....................................28
1.2. Discrimination prohibited by international human rights law and criminal liability
based on discriminatory grounds .............................................................................29
1.3. Criminal liability of persons under 18 years of age................................................... 31
1.4. Proportionality of sanctions and penalties................................................................ 31
2. Regional law and standards on the criminalization of conduct associated with poverty
and status.......................................................................................................................... 32
2.1. Africa.......................................................................................................................... 32
2.2. The Americas.............................................................................................................36
2.3. Europe........................................................................................................................ 37
CHAPTER III: CRIMINALIZATION OF CONDUCT ASSOCIATED WITH POVERTY AND
STATUS ...................................................................................................................................44
1. Forms of conduct associated with poverty and status that are criminalized...................46
2. Case study: applying a human rights-based approach to vagrancy laws....................... 51
3. Domestic legal developments and jurisprudence: proscription of conduct associated
with poverty and status......................................................................................................56
3.1. What human rights are detrimentally impacted by the law? Does the law
discriminate, directly or indirectly, based on prohibited grounds?.......................... 58
3.1.1. Proving prima facie violations of human rights .............................................. 59
3.1.2. Double victimization: violating the human rights of those whose human
rights have already been violated ..................................................................60
3.1.3. Direct and indirect discrimination................................................................... 62
3.1.4. Existence of wrongful criminal law violates human rights regardless of
threatened or actual enforcement................................................................... 65
3.2. Is the criminal law vague, imprecise, arbitrary or overly broad? Is criminal liability
foreseeable and capable of being clearly understood in its application and
consequences? ....................................................................................................... 67
3.2.1. Imprecise and overly broad substantive content of “vagrancy” laws............ 67
3.2.2. Vagueness and arbitrariness of enforcement powers .................................. 72
3.3. What substantial harm to the fundamental rights and freedoms of others, or to
certain fundamental public interests, is the legal provision purportedly protecting
against? If the interest(s) is/are legitimate, is the law strictly necessary to achieve the
purpose(s), and is it proportionate to the legitimate interest(s) it pursues, meaning, is
it the least intrusive or restrictive means to achieve the desired result? .............. 75
3.3.1. Lack of clarity about the purpose or public interest....................................... 75
3.3.2. Distinctions between forms of begging based on the “harm”
associated.......................................................................................................77
3.3.3. Demonstrating strict necessity and proportionality....................................... 80
3.4. Is criminal liability based on status alone, instead of a voluntary act or
omission? With respect to criminal offences punishable with deprivation of liberty,
is criminal liability based on, among other things, each material element of the
“offence” having been committed with a required mental state, such as intent,
purpose, knowledge, recklessness or criminal negligence? ...................................81
3.4.1. Vagrancy laws, status crimes and the voluntary act and mental state
requirements....................................................................................................81
3.4.2. Distinction between criminalizing status versus criminalizing conduct...... 85
3.5. Does the law establish lawful defences for criminal liability (i.e., grounds for
excluding criminal liability), such as by reasons of necessity, self-defence
or duress?................................................................................................................... 88
3.5.1. Lawful defences for wrongful criminalization of conduct associated with
poverty and status............................................................................................ 88
3.5.2. Lawful defences and mitigating circumstances for conduct that may be
criminalized.....................................................................................................90
3.6. Are the sanctions non-discriminatory and proportionate to the gravity of the
offence? Are custodial sentences being imposed as a measure of last resort? ....... 91
3.6.1. Deprivations of liberty: imprisonment and other forms of detention............92
3.6.2. Fines and fees.................................................................................................98
3.6.3. Evictions, demolitions and impoundment of property................................ 103
CHAPTER IV: ROLE OF LAWYERS, JUDGES, PROSECUTORS, LAW ENFORCEMENT
OFFICIALS, LEGISLATORS, POLICYMAKERS, NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS
INSTITUTIONS AND CIVIL SOCIETY IN DECRIMINALIZING CONDUCT ASSOCIATED
WITH POVERTY AND STATUS .............................................................................................109
1. Lawyers and legal practitioners....................................................................................... 111
1.1. Engaging in strategic litigation.................................................................................112
1.2. Submitting amicus curiae briefs...............................................................................113
2. Judges..............................................................................................................................114
2.1. Ensuring enforcement of court decisions................................................................116
2.2. Developing and adhering to judicial guidelines on criminal case management and
sentencing................................................................................................................118
2.3. Ensuring fines and fees are not discriminatory and/or disproportionate ................120
3. Prosecutors and law enforcement officials..............................................................................121
3.1. Implementing alternatives to arrest, detention and prosecutions........................... 122
3.2. Setting and adhering to guidelines for public prosecutors and law enforcement
officials ...................................................................................................................................123
4. Legislators and policymakers..........................................................................................127
4.1. Engaging in legal reform: repeal or substantially amend laws penalizing conduct
associated with poverty and status .......................................................................127
4.2. Enacting and implementing policies strengthening access to justice................... 130
5. National human rights institutions................................................................................... 132
6. Civil society..................................................................................................................... 133
ANNEX: LIST OF CASES FROM REGIONAL AND DOMESTIC COURTS............................135

This guide promotes a rights-based approach to criminal law reform and calls for decriminalization of laws that penalize poverty, homelessness, drug use, sex work, same-sex intimacy, and other status-related conduct."--Publisher description.