CCPR/C/109/D/1910/2009
Consideration of admissibility
7.1
Before considering any claims contained in a communication, the Human Rights
Committee must, in accordance with rule 93 of its rules of procedure, decide whether or not
it is admissible under the Optional Protocol to the Covenant.
7.2
The Committee has ascertained, as required under article 5, paragraph 2 (a), of the
Optional Protocol, that the same matter is not being examined under another procedure of
international investigation or settlement.
7.3
The Committee takes note of the State party’s argument that the communication is
inadmissible since it was submitted to the Committee by third parties and not by the alleged
victim himself. In this respect, the Committee recalls that rule 96 (b) of its rules of
procedure provides that a communication should normally be submitted by the individual
personally or by that individual’s representative, but that a communication submitted on
behalf of an alleged victim may, however, be accepted when it appears that the individual
in question is unable to submit the communication personally. 10 In the present case, the
Committee notes that the alleged victim at the time of the submission was detained on death
row; that the communication was submitted on behalf of the alleged victim by his mother
and a counsel, who have presented a duly signed letter of authorization and a power of
attorney for the counsel by the alleged victim to represent him before the Committee.
Accordingly, the Committee is not precluded by article 1 of the Optional Protocol from
examining the communication.
7.4
The State party argues that, by submitting a communication to the Committee before
her son had submitted to the Supreme Court a request for a supervisory review, the author
has abused her right of submission. Given the circumstances of the present case and the
subsequent execution of the victim, the Committee does not see how the communication
constitutes an abuse of the right of submission. The Committee further notes that this
argument relates rather to the requirements of article 5, paragraph 2 (b), of the Optional
Protocol. In the absence of any valid reason offered as to why the present communication
constitutes an abuse of the right of submission, the Committee is of the view that the case is
not inadmissible on this ground.
7.5
The Committee takes note of the State party’s argument that Mr. Zhuk had not
exhausted all domestic remedies at the time of submission of the communication in view of
the fact that he had not submitted an application for a supervisory review. In this regard, the
Committee reiterates its previous jurisprudence, according to which the State party’s
supervisory review is a discretionary review process 11 and as such does not constitute an
effective remedy for the purposes of article 5, paragraph 2 (b), of the Optional Protocol.
Therefore, the Committee is not precluded by article 5, paragraph 2 (b), of the Optional
Protocol, from considering the communication.
7.6
The Committee considers that the author’s allegations under articles 6 (paras. 1 and
2), 7, 9 (para. 3) and 14 (paras. 1, 2 and 3 (b), (d) and (g)) of the Covenant in respect of her
son have been sufficiently substantiated, for purposes of admissibility, and proceeds to their
examination on the merits.
10
11
See, inter alia, communication No. 2120/2011, Kovaleva and Kozyar v. Belarus, para. 10.2.
See, for example, communications No. 1812/2008, Levinov v. Belarus, Views adopted on 26 July
2011, para. 7.3, and No. 2120/2011, Kovaleva and Kozyar v. Belarus, para. 10.4.
9