The Death Penalty in Japan: the Law of Silence Going Against the International Trend
The Death Penalty in Japan: The Law of Silence Going against the International Trend International fact-finding mission Article 1 : All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Article 2 : Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty. n°505a October 2008 Tokyo Detention Centre FIDH - The Death Penalty in Japan: The Law of Silence / 3 Contents Introduction 4 I. The Japanese Context 6 Context and history of the application of the death penalty in Japan Actors Authorities Officials at Ministry of Justice Detention Centre Personnel Political Parties Civil society Lawyers victims’ families and detainees’ families NGOs and the movements in favour of abolition Religious representatives The influence of media II. Current debates 18 Secrecy Separation of powers Life imprisonment without parole and a toughening of penalties Fallacious arguments Justification by public opinion The confusion between the rights of victims and the death penalty The cultural argument III. Legal Framework 25 Domestic law and norms International law United Nations Japan ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture in 1999 The Council of Europe The European Union The International criminal court (ICC) IV.
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