INTRODUCTION referred to in determining whether a country is subject to a particular complaints procedure and the dates after which jurisdiction arises. The Appendices contain crucial reference materials for readers, namely the relevant treaties and other international documents. Appendices 1 and 2 contain copies of the ICCPR and the Optional Protocol to the ICCPR; Appendix 3 contains a copy of the CAT; Appendices 4 and 5 contain the Rules of Procedures of the Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture. The CEDAW and its Optional Protocol are included in Appendices 6 and 7. Given their relevance to the jurisprudence of the Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture, Appendices 9 and 10 contain copies of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, respectively. Appendices 11 and 12 contain sample pleadings which may constitute useful reference materials in non-refoulement cases or for applicants proceeding before the CEDAW Committee respectively. Throughout the text, references are made to the appendices wherever they are particularly relevant to the issue being discussed. We must notify readers of some of the terminology used in this Handbook: The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights will be referred to as “the ICCPR”; the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment will be referred to as “the CAT” or “the Convention against Torture”; the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women will be referred to as “the CEDAW Convention”. The Human Rights Committee, the Committee against Torture, and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women will be referred to as “the HRC”, “the CAT Committee” and the “the CEDAW Committee” respectively, or generically, especially when they are discussed in tandem, as a “Committee”, “treaty body”, or a “treaty monitoring body”. A country is referred to as a “State”, and a State which is a party to a treaty is referred to as a “State party” to that treaty. An individual complaint is referred to as either a “complaint” or a “communication”. The person who submits such a complaint, or in whose name a complaint is submitted, is referred to as either an “author” or a “complainant”ii The First Optional Protocol to the ICPR is referred to as “the Optional Protocol” or “the OP” and the Optional Protocol to the CAT is referred to as “the OPCAT”. National Human Rights Institutions are referred to as “NHRI”. ii An author or complainant can authorise another to act on his/her behalf. See Section 2.1.2(b). 21