CCPR/C/132/D/2900/2016 Advance unedited version
enjoyment of the guarantees enshrined in this provision is of special importance to them on
account of their condition. The Committee is therefore of the view that the author’s claim
under article 10 (3) is not incompatible with the provisions of the Covenant. 23
7.6
Lastly, the Committee takes note of the State party’s submission stating that the author
has failed to sufficiently substantiate his claims under articles 7, 10(1), 17(1), 23(1), 26 and
27 of the Covenant. As to the author’s claims regarding the conditions of his detention,
including the lack of access to adequate rehabilitation programs, the Committee notes that
for the great part of his custodial supervision, the author was detained in a maximum security
prison facility and that he presented a prima facie case as regards his allegation that his
detention in a prison environment may not have been in line with the human rights standards
stemming from the cited articles. The Committee therefore considers that the author’s claims
under articles 7 and 10(1) have been sufficiently substantiated.
7.7
As regards the State party’s challenge to the admissibility of the author’s complaint
under article 26 in conjunction with article 2(1) of the Covenant, the Committee underlines
that the author was subject to the impugned laws on the ground that he had allegedly
committed criminal offences, however, he could not stand trial owing to his mental condition.
The Committee notes that none of this has been contested by the author. Furthermore, the
Committee recalls that not all differentiation is to be considered discrimination prohibited by
the Covenant. Any determination about discrimination requires a comparison with persons
who are similarly situated. Given the differences of the situation of persons with mental
disabilities in a criminal procedure context, the fact alone that specific domestic laws have
been applied to the author is not sufficient to conclude that the author presented a prima facie
case of discrimination for the purposes of article 2 of the Optional Protocol. The Committee
further notes that the author’s claims in this respect are intimately linked to his complaints
under articles 7, 9 and 10 of the Covenant and will therefore examine them under these
articles. The Committee therefore considers that the author has failed to sufficiently
substantiate his claims under article 26 in conjunction with article 2 of the Covenant and finds
it inadmissible under article 2 of the Optional Protocol.
7.8
Regarding the author’s claims under articles 17(1) and 23(1) of the Covenant, the
Committee considers that the author has sufficiently substantiated that there may have been
an interference with his family life that goes beyond the burden that is inherent in detention,
in as much as it concerns the period of his detention prior to his transfer to Darwin
Correctional Centre. As regards his minority rights under article 27 of the Covenant, the
Committee considers that the author failed to establish a prima facie case in that the State
party had less intrusive means to achieve the aims of his transfer and that the increase of
burden on his minority rights went beyond of what is inherent in detention. Accordingly, the
Committee considers that the author has failed to sufficiently substantiate his claim under
article 27 of the Covenant and his allegations are therefore inadmissible under article 2 of the
Optional Protocol.
7.9
The Committee observes that the State party did not contest the admissibility of the
author’s claims under article 9 of the Covenant on any grounds.
7.10 In view of the foregoing, the Committee considers that the author’s allegations under
articles 7, 9, 10 (1) (3), 17 (1) and 23 (1) of the Covenant have been sufficiently substantiated
for the purposes of admissibility and proceeds with their consideration on the merits.
Consideration of the merits
8.1
The Committee has considered the present communication in the light of all the
information submitted to it by the parties, as required under article 5 (1) of the Optional
Protocol.
8.2
Regarding the author’s claims under article 9 of the Covenant, the Committee takes
note of the author’s claim that his detention had been arbitrary because for the major part of
his detention, the authorities have failed to provide him with suitable accommodation in a
23
See, e.g. Robert John Fardon v. Australia (CCPR/C/98/D/1629/2007), para. 7.4; Concluding
observations on the fourth periodic report of Switzerland (CCPR/C/CHE/CO/4) paras. 38 and 39.
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