Alfredo Baroy v The Philippines

Title:
Mr. Alfredo Baroy v. The Philippines

Court/Judicial Body:
Human Rights Committee

Citation:
Communication No 1045/2002

Date:
31 October 2003

Instruments Cited:
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, article 6 (right to life), article 10 (right to be treated with dignity when in detention), article 14 (4) (special protection of minors in conflict with the law) and article 26 (equal protection of the law).

Summary:
The complainant was detained on death row following convictions for three counts of rape with a deadly weapon. There had been doubt as to his age at trial and the court determined he was born in 1984, but Mr Baroy maintains he was born in 1982, making him 14 at the time of commission of the crime. In imposing the maximum penalty of death by injection, the Court did not take into account any mitigating circumstances.

Mr Baroy alleged that the state had violated his rights under article 6 (right to life), article 10 (right to be treated with dignity when in detention), article 14 (4) (special protection of minors in conflict with the law) and article 26 (equal protection of the law) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The merits of the complaint were not considered because it was deemed inadmissible on the ground of non-exhaustion of domestic remedies. However, the Human Rights Committee noted that “sentencing a person to death and placing him or her on death row in circumstances where his or her minority has not been finally determined raises serious issues under articles 10 and 14, as well as potentially under article 7” (right to freedom from torture).

Link to Full Judgment:
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/undocs/1045-2002.html

This case summary is provided by the Child Rights International Network for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice.