ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY — A EUROPEAN UPDATED PERSPECTIVE
ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY — A EUROPEAN UPDATED PERSPECTIVE

Summary/Abstract: The World Day against the Death Penalty is celebrated every year on 10 October 2020. It is the appropriate occasion for many international actors and particularly for the European organizations or States to reaffirm their commitment for the universal abolition of the death penalty, considered as a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. According to the European system for the protection of fundamental human rights and liberties, based on The European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention) and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (the Court), the right to life is the first among all fundamental human rights, being considered as an essential principle. As a consequence, the right to life is considered an absolute one that currently excludes any derogation. One of the specialized international bodies engaged in the support for the abolitionist process is the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and its general rapporteur on the abolishment of the death penalty. The current article presents the analysis contained in a recent Revised information note presented by the PACE general rapporteur on the latest international developments on the matter, including within the European continent.

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