THE DEATH PENALTY IN THE OSCE AREA The limitations set out in Article 6(2) have been interpreted by the Human Rights Committee in its Concluding Observations on State Party Reports, in its General Comment No. 6, and in its jurisprudence on individual complaints.13 In addition, the limitations set out in Article 6(2) have also been interpreted and expanded upon in documents produced by other UN bodies, in particular, in the ECOSOC Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of Those Facing the Death Penalty14 and in the annual resolutions of the Commission on Human Rights on the Question of the Death Penalty.15 The following is a brief overview of the nature of the restrictions set out in Article 6(2) on the basis of the documentation produced by the above-mentioned bodies.16 Most serious crimes General Comment No. 6 states that the term "most serious crimes" must be read restrictively to mean that the death penalty should be an exceptional measure. The ECOSOC Safeguards specify that the scope of the crimes punishable by the death penalty should not go beyond intentional crimes with lethal or other extremely grave consequences. The Human Rights Committee has gone further than this, stating that the imposition of the death penalty for crimes that do not result in loss of life would be contrary to the ICCPR.17 Resolution 2004/67 of the Commission on Human Rights states that the death penalty should not be imposed for non-violent acts such as financial crimes, non-violent religious practice or expression of conscience, or sexual relations between consenting adults. In a manner not contrary to the provisions of the ICCPR and pursuant to a final judgement rendered by a competent court States parties are obliged to observe rigorously all the fair-trial guarantees set out in Article 14 of the ICCPR. The Human Rights Committee is of the opinion that a violation of the right to life would result from an execution following a trial that fails to ensure the right to a fair hearing by an independent tribunal, the presumption of innocence, the minimum guarantees for the defence, and the right to review by a higher tribunal.18 The 13 14 15 16 17 18 General Comment No. 6, adopted at the 16th session of the Human Rights Committee, 1982. Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of Those Facing the Death Penalty, UN Economic and Social Council Resolution 1984/50, adopted on 25 May 1984. The most recent resolution of the Commission on Human Rights on the Question of the Death Penalty is Resolution 2004/67, April 2003. Unless otherwise indicated, the documents referred to in the following overview are not of a legally binding nature. CCPR/C/79/Add. 25, 3 August 1993. General Comment No. 6. 10