International law

Summary: Treaties, conventions and guidelines made with the United Nations that apply to people around the world.

International law means international treaties (also called conventions), declarations and guidelines about human rights and how people should be treated around the world. This includes the treatment of people in prisons.

Treaties, declarations and guidelines come from the United Nations (UN). The UN is an international organisation that brings most of the world’s countries together to discuss common problems and try to find solutions to issues around the world.

Important: Section 32(2) of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights says that international law can be taken into account when you are interpreting Victorian laws like the Corrections Act 1986 (Vic).

Treaties (also called conventions)

Treaties are agreements between countries around the world and the UN. Some of the treaties most important to prisons are:

• International Convention on Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)
• Convention against Torture & Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 1987 (CAT)
• Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT)
• Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2006 (CRPD)

If countries support a treaty, they can either sign or ratify it. If they sign the treaty, they agree with it. If they ratify the treaty, it becomes legally binding, and they become a member country of that treaty.

All of the treaties listed above have a treaty body – a committee of independent experts that makes sure member countries are implementing or following their treaty. Some treaty bodies take complaints about individual breaches of human rights.

For more information on each of these treaties and their treaty bodies, use the links on the left side of this page.

Declarations

A declaration is a statement about the rights of people around the world and standards that countries should follow to protect those rights. Declarations are adopted by the UN through a vote by member countries.

Examples of declarations are:

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
• Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)

Guidelines

Guidelines are a set of rules or standards that are adopted by the UN, and then recognised and followed around the world. Guidelines are adopted by the UN through a vote by member countries.

There are two important guidelines created for people in prison:

• UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisons & Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders (‘Bangkok Rules’)
• UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners 2015 (‘Mandela Rules’)

For more information on each of these guidelines, use the links on the left side of this page.