Structural Components of a Democratic Society
pa rt II
(5.19) - everyone will be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law;
(5.20) - considering the important contribution of international instruments in the field
of human rights to the rule of law at a national level, the participating States reaffirm
that they will consider acceding to the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other
relevant international instruments, if they have not yet done so.
(5.21) - in order to supplement domestic remedies and better to ensure that the participating States respect the international obligations they have undertaken, the participating States will consider acceding to a regional or global international convention concerning the protection of human rights, such as the European Convention on Human
Rights or the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, which provide for procedures of individual recourse to international bodies.
(…)
(12) The participating States, wishing to ensure greater transparency in the implementation of the commitments undertaken in the Vienna Concluding Document under the
heading of the human dimension of the CSCE, decide to accept as a confidence building measure the presence of observers sent by participating States and representatives
of non-governmental organizations and other interested persons at proceedings before
courts as provided for in national legislation and international law; it is understood that
proceedings may only be held in camera in the circumstances prescribed by law and
consistent with obligations under international law and international commitments.
(…)
(24) The participating States will ensure that the exercise of all the human rights and
fundamental freedoms set out above will not be subject to any restrictions except those
which are provided by law and are consistent with their obligations under international
law, in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and with
their international commitments, in particular the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. These restrictions have the character of exceptions. The participating States will
ensure that these restrictions are not abused and are not applied in an arbitrary manner, but in such a way that the effective exercise of these rights is ensured. Any restriction on rights and freedoms must, in a democratic society, relate to one of the objectives
of the applicable law and be strictly proportionate to the aim of that law.
Moscow 1991
(18.1) Legislation will be formulated and adopted as the result of an open process reflecting the will of the people, either directly or through their elected representatives.
(…)
(27) The participating States
90 OSCE Human Dimension Commitments
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents