The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights( ICCPR) is one of the most important human rights treaties adopted by the United Nations. It has been found that there are three different Chinese versions of t...The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights( ICCPR) is one of the most important human rights treaties adopted by the United Nations. It has been found that there are three different Chinese versions of the Covenant being used simultaneously. The first version is the original Chinese text adopted by the General Assembly of United Nations( UN) in 1966. The second version,from 2002,is the revised Chinese text by the Chinese Government,with Depositary Notification from the UN. The third version is the simplified Chinese text widely used in Chinese mainland. The authors have found that the legal status of the simplified Chinese text is still uncertain because no formal confirmation of the text by the United Nations,the relevant authority,has been found so far. This paper examines which version should prevail in the event of any divergence among these Chinese texts and which version should be considered authentic. The authors point out various errors in the simplified Chinese text,such as the title of the Covenant,equality between men and women,death penalty,crucial punishment,parole,arrest,detention,crossexamination etc. and explore the issue of ratification of the Covenant,inter alia: the conditions and reservations China has with ratifying the Covenant. Finally,this paper illustrates the progress China has achieved in judicial reform and describes the development in the field of human rights protection,especially in criminal justice. By analyzing the matters that China may take into consideration in the process of ratification,the authors suggest that China ratify the Covenant as soon as possible and modify its domestic laws incrementally according to China's Constitution. The Covenant should be ratified for the purpose of further promoting judicial reform,and guaranteeing the 'human rights protection clauses'in China's Constitution and laws.展开更多
文摘The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights( ICCPR) is one of the most important human rights treaties adopted by the United Nations. It has been found that there are three different Chinese versions of the Covenant being used simultaneously. The first version is the original Chinese text adopted by the General Assembly of United Nations( UN) in 1966. The second version,from 2002,is the revised Chinese text by the Chinese Government,with Depositary Notification from the UN. The third version is the simplified Chinese text widely used in Chinese mainland. The authors have found that the legal status of the simplified Chinese text is still uncertain because no formal confirmation of the text by the United Nations,the relevant authority,has been found so far. This paper examines which version should prevail in the event of any divergence among these Chinese texts and which version should be considered authentic. The authors point out various errors in the simplified Chinese text,such as the title of the Covenant,equality between men and women,death penalty,crucial punishment,parole,arrest,detention,crossexamination etc. and explore the issue of ratification of the Covenant,inter alia: the conditions and reservations China has with ratifying the Covenant. Finally,this paper illustrates the progress China has achieved in judicial reform and describes the development in the field of human rights protection,especially in criminal justice. By analyzing the matters that China may take into consideration in the process of ratification,the authors suggest that China ratify the Covenant as soon as possible and modify its domestic laws incrementally according to China's Constitution. The Covenant should be ratified for the purpose of further promoting judicial reform,and guaranteeing the 'human rights protection clauses'in China's Constitution and laws.
