to a State in which he was under sentence of death before he could exercise all his rights to challenge that deportation, did the State party violate his rights under articles 6, 7 and 2 of the Covenant? that article 6 applies to the situation where a State party seeks to extradite or remove an individual to a state where he/she faces the death penalty. 8.4 Article 6 allows States parties to extradite or remove an individual to a state where they face the death penalty as long as the conditions respecting the imposition of the death penalty in article 6 are met. The State party argues that the Committee, in the instant case, does not seem to question whether the imposition of the death penalty in the United States meets the conditions prescribed in article 6.13 Rather, the Committee asked whether Canada violated the Covenant by failing to seek assurances that the death penalty would not be carried out against the author. The Committee concluded that, given the seriousness of these questions, the parties should be afforded the opportunity to comment on them before the Committee expressed its Views on the merits. The parties were requested to provide information on the current procedural situation of the author in the United States and on any prospective appeals he might be able to pursue. The State party was requested to supplement its submissions in relation to the above questions and request for information as soon as possible, but in any event within three months of the date of transmittal of the admissibility decision. Any statements received from the State party were to be communicated to the author, who would be requested to respond within two months. 8.5 According to the State party, article 6 and the Committee’s General Comment 14 on article 614 are silent on the issue of seeking assurances, and no legal authority supports the proposition that abolitionist states must seek assurances as a matter of international law. The State party submits that to subsume such a requirement under article 6 would represent a significant departure from accepted rules of treaty interpretation, including the principle that a treaty should be interpreted in light of the intention of the states parties as reflected in the terms of the treaty.15 The State party’s response on the merits, pursuant to the Committee’s request 8.1 By note verbale of 15 November 2002, the State party responded to the questions and request for further information by the Committee. 8.6 The State party recalls that the Committee has considered several communications respecting the extradition or removal of individuals from Canada to states where they face the death penalty. In none of these cases did the Committee raise concerns about the absence of seeking assurances. Furthermore, the State party observes that, the Committee has on previous occasions rejected the proposition that an 1. Whether Canada violated the Covenant by failing to seek assurances that the death penalty would not be carried out 8.2 The State party refers to article 6, paragraph 1, which declares that every human being has the right to life and guarantees that no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his or her life. It submits that with respect to the imposition of the death penalty, article 6, paragraph 2, specifically permits its application in those countries which have not abolished it, but requires that it be imposed in a manner that respects the conditions outlined in article 6. 13 According to the State party, with respect to the conditions under which the death penalty is applied in the State of Pennsylvania, the Committee found in paragraph 7.7 of its decision on admissibility that the author had the right under Pennsylvanian law to a full appeal against his conviction and sentence and that the conviction and sentence were reviewed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. The Committee held that the author’s claim based on article 14, paragraph 5 was inadmissible. 8.3 Article 6 does not explicitly refer to the situation where someone is extradited or removed to another state where that person is subject to the imposition of the death penalty. However, the State party notes that the Committee has held that “if a State party takes a decision relating to a person within its jurisdiction and the necessary and foreseeable consequence is that that person’s rights under the Covenant will be violated in another jurisdiction, the State party itself may be in violation of the Covenant.”12 The Committee has thus found 14 15 HRI/GEN/1/Rev.6. The State party refers to Article 31 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, U.N. Doc. A/Conf.39/27 (1969) which states that a “treaty shall be interpreted in good faith in accordance with the ordinary meaning to be given to the terms of the treaty in their context and in light of its object and purpose”. Article 31 requires that the ordinary meaning of the terms of a provision of the treaty be the primary source for interpreting its meaning. The context of a treaty for the purposes of interpreting its provisions includes any subsequent agreement or practise of states parties that confer an additional meaning to the provision (art. 31, paragraphs 2 and 3). 12 Kindler v. Canada, supra, Ng v. Canada, Communication No. 469/1991, Views adopted on 5 November 1993, Cox v. Canada, Communication No. 539/1993, Views adopted on 31 October 1994, G.T. v. Australia, Communication No. 706/1996, Views adopted on 4 November 1997. 92