Public International Law Volume I
Public International Law Volume I
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PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW COMPENDIUM VOLUME I
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have
resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the
conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in
which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and
belief
and
freedom
from
fear
and
want
has been
proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common
people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to
have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny
and oppression, that human rights should be protected
by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of
friendly relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the
Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human
rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and
in
the
equal
rights
of men and women and have
determined
to
promote
social
progress
and
better
standards of life in larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to
achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the
promotion of universal respect for and observance of
human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and
freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full
realization of this pledge,
Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS
UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a
common standard of achievement for all peoples and all
nations, to the end that every individual and every organ
of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind,
shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect
for
these
rights
and
freedoms
and
by
progressive
measures, national and international, to secure their
universal and effective recognition and observance, both
among the peoples of Member States themselves and
among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
Article 1.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and
rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience
and
should
act
towards one another in a spirit of
brotherhood.
Article 2.
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set
forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind,
such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or
other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or
other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made
on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international
status of the country or territory to which a person
belongs,
whether
it
be
independent,
trust,
non-self-governing
or
under
any
other
limitation of
sovereignty.
Article 3.
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of
person.
Article 4.
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and
the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Article 5.
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 6.
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a
person before the law.
Article 7.
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any
discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are
entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in
violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to
such discrimination.
Article 8.
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the
competent
national
tribunals
for
acts
violating
the
fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by
law.
Article 9.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or
exile.
Article 10.
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public
hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the
determination of his rights and obligations and of any
criminal charge against him.
Article 11.
(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to
be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to
law
in
a
public
trial
at which he has had all the
guarantees necessary for his defence.
(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on
account of any act or omission which did not constitute a
penal offence, under national or international law, at the
time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty
be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time
the penal offence was committed.
Article 12.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with
his
privacy,
family, home or correspondence, nor to
attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has
the right to the protection of the law against such
interference or attacks.
Article 13.
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and
residence within the borders of each state.
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including
his own, and to return to his country.
Article 14.
(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other
countries asylum from persecution.
(2)
This
right
may
not
be
invoked
in
the case of
prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes
or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of
the United Nations.
Article 15.
(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality
nor denied the right to change his nationality.
Article 16.
(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due
to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and
to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to
marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and
full consent of the intending spouses.
(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit
of society and is entitled to protection by society and the
State.
Article 17.
(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as
in association with others.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
Article 18.
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience
and religion; this right includes freedom to change his
religion
or
belief,
and
freedom,
either
alone
or
in
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