death_penalty_new.qxd 02-08-27 12:57 Page 14 THE DEATH PENALTY IN THE OSCE AREA Protocol No. 6 to the ECHR22 Protocol No. 6 provides for the total abolition of the death penalty in peacetime but allows state parties to retain the death penalty in wartime. Article 1 states that the death penalty shall be abolished and that no one shall be condemned to such penalty or executed. According to Article 2 of the Protocol, a state may make provision in its law for the death penalty in respect of acts committed in times of war or of imminent threat of war23. It is specified that the death penalty can only be applied in the instances laid down by the law and in accordance with its provisions. All new Member States of the Council of Europe are required to commit to the introduction of an immediate moratorium and to ratify Protocol No. 6 within a certain time limit24. Protocol No. 13 to the ECHR25 Protocol No. 13 provides for the total abolition of the death penalty in peacetime and in wartime. It is thus the first legally binding instrument that abolishes the death penalty in all circumstances with no exceptions. Article 1 states that the death penalty shall be abolished and that no one shall be condemned to such penalty or executed. There is no exception for crimes committed in times of war or of imminent threat of war26. The Protocol has not yet entered into force. It will enter into force when it has been ratified by 10 Member States of the Council of Europe. As of 30 June 2002, it had been signed by 36 Member States and ratified by three Member States. These are Ireland, Malta and Switzerland. 3.3 EUROPEAN UNION (EU) In addition to the international standards referred to in the Copenhagen Document, the following standard has been elaborated by the European Union. 22 23 24 25 26 ETS No.114. Entered into force on 1 March 1985. Articles 3 and 4 prohibit derogation and reservations being made in respect of the provisions of Protocol No.6. Resolution 1044 (1994) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the Abolition of Capital Punishment, text adopted on 4 October 1994. ETS No.187. Adopted by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers on 21 February 2002 and opened for signature on 3 May 2002. Articles 2 and 3 prohibit derogation and reservations being made in respect of the provisions of Protocol No.13. 14