UGC NET Human Rights & Duties cheat sheet

UDHR adopted by UNGA on 10 December 1948 in Paris (Resolution 217A III); 30 articles; not a treaty, so non-binding per se but widely cited as customary international law.

Two ICCPR/ICESCR covenants adopted 16 December 1966, in force 1976: ICCPR (civil-political, monitored by Human Rights Committee) and ICESCR (economic-social-cultural, monitored by CESCR); India ratified both in 1979.

International Bill of Human Rights = UDHR + ICCPR + ICESCR + Optional Protocols; ICCPR First Optional Protocol allows individual communications; Second aims at death penalty abolition.

Core treaties and years: Genocide Convention 1948; CERD 1965; CEDAW 1979; CAT 1984; CRC 1989; CRPD 2006; each has a treaty-monitoring body of independent experts.

Three generations (Karel Vasak): first = civil-political (liberty); second = economic-social-cultural (equality); third = collective/solidarity (development, peace, environment, self-determination).

Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action 1993: human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated; created OHCHR with High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Human rights are typically defined by universality, inalienability, indivisibility, interdependence and non-discrimination; state obligations split into respect, protect and fulfil.

Universal Periodic Review (UPR): all 193 UN member states reviewed by the Human Rights Council every 4-5 years; India's first UPR was in 2008.

Duties correlate with rights: Article 29(1) UDHR states everyone has duties to the community; the African Charter (1981) is notable for expressly listing individual duties.

Fundamental Rights (Part III, Articles 12-35) are justiciable against the state; writs under Article 32 (Supreme Court) and Article 226 (High Courts) are the enforcement route; Article 32 itself is a fundamental right.

Article 21 has been expanded by judicial interpretation to include right to life with dignity, privacy (Puttaswamy 2017), clean environment, health, legal aid, speedy trial and livelihood.

Directive Principles (Part IV, Articles 36-51) are non-justiciable but fundamental in governance; Article 37 states they are not enforceable in courts yet are central to interpretation.

Fundamental Duties: Article 51A, Part IVA, added by the 42nd Amendment 1976 on Swaran Singh Committee recommendation; originally 10 duties, an 11th added by the 86th Amendment 2002 (education of children 6-14).

Protection of Human Rights Act 1993: defines human rights as rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in international covenants enforceable by courts.

NHRC composition: chairperson (former Chief Justice or judge of the Supreme Court), one member who is or has been a Supreme Court judge, one High Court judge, and members with knowledge of human rights; appointed by the President.

NHRC has civil-court powers for inquiry (summoning witnesses, evidence) but cannot enforce its recommendations; it cannot inquire into a matter after one year from the alleged act.

Key statutes: SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989; Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955; POCSO Act 2012; Domestic Violence Act 2005; Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016; Juvenile Justice Act 2015.

National commissions: NHRC (1993), NCW (1992), NCPCR (2007), NCM (1992), NCSC (2004), NCST (2004), and the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities; state human rights commissions under Section 21 of the 1993 Act.

UN Human Rights Council replaced the Commission on Human Rights in 2006; 47 member states elected by UNGA; Universal Periodic Review and Special Procedures (special rapporteurs) are its main mechanisms.

Treaty body complaint procedures: ICCPR First Optional Protocol (individual communications), CERD Article 14, CAT Article 22, CEDAW Optional Protocol, CRPD Optional Protocol, ICESCR Optional Protocol (2013).

ICJ decides disputes between states and gives advisory opinions; the ICC (Rome Statute 1998, in force 2002) tries individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression; complementarity principle applies.

Geneva Conventions 1949 and Additional Protocols 1977 govern international humanitarian law; ICRC is the guardian; common Article 3 covers non-international armed conflict.

Refugee protection: 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol; core principle of non-refoulement; India is not a party but follows the principle in practice and has no dedicated refugee law.

Landmark cases: Maneka Gandhi v Union of India (1978) - procedure established by law must be fair, just and reasonable; Vishaka (1997) - guidelines on sexual harassment; Bandhua Mukti Morcha (1984) - bonded labour and Article 21.

Landmark cases: Hussainara Khatoon (1979) - speedy trial and legal aid; Olga Tellis (1985) - right to livelihood; M.C. Mehta (1987) - right to clean environment; A.K. Gopalan (1950) - earlier narrow reading of Article 21.

Rights of specific groups: CEDAW (women), CRC (children, four guiding principles: non-discrimination, best interests, survival and development, respect for views), CRPD (persons with disabilities, 2006), ILO core conventions on labour.

Regional systems: European Convention on Human Rights 1950 (ECtHR, Strasbourg); American Convention 1969 (Inter-American Court); African Charter 1981 (Banjul Charter, African Commission); Arab Charter 2004.

Reasonable restrictions: Article 19(2) permits limits on speech in the interests of sovereignty, security, public order, decency, morality, contempt of court, defamation and incitement to offence.

Preventive detention: Article 22(4)-(7) allows detention up to 3 months without advisory board; beyond that requires an advisory board; Article 20 protects against ex post facto laws, double jeopardy and self-incrimination.

Derogation in international law: ICCPR Article 4 allows suspension of certain rights during public emergency threatening the life of the nation, but rights such as Article 7 (torture) and Article 6 (life) are non-derogable.

Limitation clauses in treaties: ICCPR Articles 18, 19, 21 and 22 permit restrictions that are prescribed by law and necessary for specified legitimate aims.

Article 51A duties include respecting the Constitution and national symbols, cherishing composite culture, protecting the environment and wildlife, developing scientific temper, and safeguarding public property.

Remedies architecture: writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari and quo warranto; PIL relaxed locus standi; Article 32 cannot be suspended except as provided by Article 359 during an emergency.

Human Rights Courts: Section 30 of the Protection of Human Rights Act 1993 allows state governments to set up Human Rights Courts with a Sessions Judge, with a Special Public Prosecutor.

NHRC annual report is laid before Parliament; it may review safeguards for rights, inquire into complaints, spread human rights literacy and recommend remedial measures, but it lacks the power to punish.

Natural rights theory (Locke) versus positivist view (rights from law); Hohfeld's analysis of rights as claim, privilege, power and immunity clarifies the correlativity of rights and duties.

Negative rights require non-interference (state abstention); positive rights require provision of resources; the ICCPR/ICESCR split loosely follows this distinction, though the Vienna Declaration rejects hierarchy.

Civil and political rights are generally immediately realisable; economic, social and cultural rights are subject to progressive realisation and maximum available resources (ICESCR Article 2(1)).

Three obligations of the state: respect (do not interfere), protect (prevent third-party abuse) and fulfil (provide facilities and services); often extended to a fourth, promote.

Human rights versus humanitarian law: human rights apply at all times and primarily to the state-individual relationship; IHL applies only during armed conflict and binds all parties including non-state actors.

Human rights versus human development: the capability approach (Amartya Sen, Martha Nussbaum) links rights to freedoms and capabilities; the UNDP Human Development Index measures health, education and income.

Equality: Article 14 (equality before law), Article 15 (no discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth), Article 16 (public employment), Article 17 (abolition of untouchability); reasonable classification is permitted.

Non-derogable core under ICCPR Article 4 includes freedom from torture (Art 7), freedom of thought and conscience (Art 18), and the right to life (Art 6); derogation must be notified through the UN Secretary-General.

Magna Carta 1215, English Bill of Rights 1689, US Bill of Rights 1791, French Declaration of the Rights of Man 1789 are the historical precursors to modern rights documents.

Slavery: Slavery Convention 1926; Supplementary Convention 1956; abolition of bonded labour and trafficking addressed in Indian Constitution Article 23, and child labour in Article 24 (below 14 years).

Torture: UN Convention against Torture 1984; India signed in 1997 but has not ratified; the Prevention of Torture Bill and the 2017 draft law remain pending, and India has no specific anti-torture statute.

Genocide Convention 1948 defines genocide as acts committed with intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group; genocide is a crime under the ICC Rome Statute.

Right to education: Article 21A inserted by the 86th Amendment 2002; RTE Act 2009 applies to children 6-14 years; Article 45 and 51A(k) were amended accordingly.

RTI Act 2005, the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013, and the Whistle Blowers Protection Act 2014 are transparency instruments that operationalise the right to information as a facet of Article 19(1)(a).

International Labour Organization (1919) core standards: freedom of association, abolition of forced labour, abolition of child labour, and elimination of discrimination in employment.

UN Charter 1945: Article 1(3) and Article 55 promote respect for human rights; the Charter uses the term human rights but does not define it; the Universal Declaration followed in 1948.

NHRC complaint procedure: complaints can be made by the victim or any person on their behalf, in any language; complaints older than one year are excluded; complaints against private parties are generally not entertained.

NHRC may call for reports from the government, inspect jails and custodial institutions, and recommend compensation or disciplinary action, but cannot award damages or prosecute directly.

Armed forces complaints: NHRC may seek a report from the Central Government and may not inquire into violations by armed forces beyond the report (Section 19 of the 1993 Act).

State Human Rights Commissions are constituted under Section 21; they mirror NHRC powers within the state, and NHRC may transfer cases to them.

Judicial review: Article 13 makes laws inconsistent with fundamental rights void; doctrine of eclipse and doctrine of severability govern partial invalidity.

Public Interest Litigation: relaxed standing and epistolary jurisdiction, initiated by letters or newspaper reports; associated with Justices P.N. Bhagwati and V.R. Krishna Iyer.

Enforcement of international law in India: dualism applies; treaties must be legislated into domestic law; unincorporated treaties may inform interpretation where domestic law is silent (Vishaka, NALSA 2014).

Commissions and their statutes: NCW 1992, NCM 1992, NCSC and NCST 2004 (constitutional bodies under Articles 338, 338A), NCPCR 2007 (statutory under the CPCR Act 2005).

Complaint to treaty bodies requires exhaustion of domestic remedies, no anonymous petitions, and no parallel consideration by another international procedure.

Business and human rights: UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights 2011 (Ruggie Framework) rest on three pillars - state duty to protect, corporate responsibility to respect, and access to remedy.

Sustainable Development Goals (2015, 17 goals, 169 targets) integrate human rights; SDG 16 covers peace, justice and strong institutions; Agenda 2030 replaced the MDGs.

Human rights defenders: UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders 1998; special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders established 2000.

Right to privacy recognised as intrinsic to Article 21 in K.S. Puttaswamy v Union of India (2017); the Personal Data Protection Act 2023 regulates processing of digital personal data.

Environmental rights: Rio Declaration 1992, Stockholm Declaration 1972, and the UNGA resolution of 2022 recognising the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

Digital rights: freedom of expression online, internet shutdowns, and the Supreme Court's Anuradha Bhasin (2020) ruling that indefinite internet suspension is impermissible.

Custodial and extrajudicial issues: D.K. Basu v State of West Bengal (1997) laid down arrest safeguards; Nandini Satpathy (1978) addressed the right against self-incrimination.

Disability: CRPD 2006 shifts from a medical to a social and rights-based model; RPwD Act 2016 recognises 21 specified disabilities and provides reservation in education and employment.

Terminology: 'human rights education' under the World Programme (2005 onwards); 'rights-based approach' uses participation, accountability, non-discrimination, empowerment and legality (PANEL principles).