CCPR/C/115/D/2005/2010
Australia, by which the author was returned to Australia to serve the remainder of his
sentence. The author states that his imprisonment constituted unlawful and arbitrary
detention as it flowed directly from his unfair trial. As that transfer was the result of an
agreement between Australia and the United States, the Committee considers that the claim
raises issues under article 9 of the Covenant and that it has been sufficiently substantiated
for purposes of admissibility. It therefore declares it admissible.
2.11 Regarding the imposition of a control order by the Federal Magistrates Court under
article 104 of the Australian Criminal Code, the author claims that the procedure was
unfair, in violation of article 14 of the Covenant. The Committee notes the author’s claim
that he was not given a genuine opportunity to submit evidence, as doing so might have
been viewed as violating the plea agreement. However, from the information contained in
the file, the Committee notes, inter alia, that the Federal Magistrate invited the author to
present evidence on his own behalf and gave him additional time to submit it, but the author
declined to do so; that the Magistrate subjected the evidence of the Australian Federal
Police to scrutiny, expressed some concerns, reduced the requirement to report to the
authorities and then provided a reasoned explanation for his decision based on the evidence
at his disposal; and that the author did not appeal the judgement confirming the control
order.
2.12 The Committee takes the view that the author’s claims relate essentially to the
evaluation of the facts and evidence carried out by the Australian courts. The Committee is
not a final instance competent to re-evaluate findings of fact or the application of domestic
legislation, unless it can be ascertained that the proceedings before the domestic courts
were arbitrary or amounted to a denial of justice. In the present case, the Committee
considers that the author has failed to substantiate, for purposes of admissibility, that the
conduct of the domestic court amounted to arbitrariness or a denial of justice. Accordingly,
those claims are inadmissible under article 2 of the Optional Protocol.
2.13 The Committee notes the author’s claims under articles 12, 17, 19 and 22 to the
effect that the control order imposed restrictions on the exercise of his freedoms. The
Committee considers, however, that the author has failed to substantiate his claims
sufficiently for purposes of admissibility. The claims are therefore inadmissible under
article 2 of the Optional Protocol.
3.
In the light of the foregoing, the Committee declares the communication admissible
with respect to the claims mentioned in paragraphs 2.7, 2.9 and 2.10 above, and proceeds
with its consideration of the merits.
Consideration of the merits
4.1
The Human Rights Committee has considered the communication in the light of all
the information made available to it by the parties, as provided for under article 5 (1) of the
Optional Protocol.
a.
State party’s alleged responsibility in connection with the period when the author was in the
custody of the United States
4.2
The Committee decided, at the admissibility stage, that the question of the State
party’s jurisdiction was closely linked to the merits of the case and should be reviewed at
that stage. The Committee is therefore to ascertain whether the State party, at any point,
exercised power or effective control over the author and thus whether the author was under
its jurisdiction.
4.3
The Committee notes the author’s allegations that: (a) the State party negotiated
directly with the United States concerning the trial standard that would apply to the author
(see annex II below, para. 15); (b) the State party made various representations to the
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