Prisoner's Human Rights Protection Manual

Author: Wang Bingzhong, Gao Chang, Zhang Qing (editors)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: The documents compiled in the "Manual on the Protection of Human Rights of Prisoners" are divided into three parts: The first part is the "Basic Rights and Obligations of Citizens" (Chapter 2) of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China and the Prison Law of the People's Republic of China. Undoubtedly, the protection of human rights of Chinese prisoners and the improvement of the law enforcement quality of Chinese prison officials must comply with our Constitution and Prison Law. Only through the study and understanding of relevant laws can prison officials strictly adhere to the legal rules for protecting prisoners' human rights during the reform process. The second part consists of United Nations documents related to prisoners' human rights. The United Nations is the world's largest intergovernmental international organization, with the purpose of maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations, promoting international cooperation and solving international problems of a humanitarian nature, and promoting and encouraging respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all human beings. It can be said that since its establishment, the United Nations has placed great emphasis on the promotion and protection of human rights. This promotion and protection are achieved through various documents formulated by the United Nations. These documents are generally divided into declarations, conventions, model treaties, rules, principles, and protocols according to their nature and legal effect. They can also be classified by their level of binding force as follows:
1. Charter. The Charter of the United Nations is the constitutional document of the United Nations. All legal documents and actions of the United Nations must comply with the provisions or spirit of the Charter.
2. Conventions. Such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Conventions require countries to go through procedures such as ratification and accession. Once ratified, they become binding on member states.
3. Principles or Rules. Such as the Guidelines for Preventing and Combating Organized Crime and the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials. These rules do not require countries to ratify or accede to them and do not have legal binding force. However, the United Nations hopes and encourages countries to comply with them and to reflect their content in national legislation and practices. They should also be provided to law enforcement officials and relevant authorities in their own languages to ensure that the public is as informed as possible about the relevant content and principles.
4. Model Documents. Such as the Model Treaty on Extradition. These are sample documents formulated by the United Nations, which have no binding force and are only for reference when countries formulate such documents. As a member of the United Nations and a signatory and ratifier of some conventions, China has the obligation to protect the human rights of prisoners within the relevant legal framework. The third part includes the European Prison Rules. "Improving the Law Enforcement Quality of Chinese Prison Officials and Protecting the Human Rights of Prisoners" is a cooperation project between China and the Netherlands. The Netherlands, as a European country, must comply with the "European Prison Rules" in its protection of prisoners' human rights. We have included it as a reference to help Chinese prison officials understand the relevant regulations of European countries in the protection of prisoners' human rights.