Summary execution
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2007) |
A summary execution is a variety of extrajudicial killing in which a person is killed on the spot without trial. Summary executions are practiced by police, military, and paramilitary organizations and are associated with guerrilla warfare, terrorism and counterinsurgency.
According to international law, summary executions are illegal as it is the denial of the right to life with fair trial.
"Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No man shall be deprived of his life arbitrarily."(International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR - 1966, Article 6.1)
"[The Death] penalty can only be carried out pursuant to a final judgement rendered by a competent court" (ICCPR (1966), Article 6.2)
"In the determination of any criminal charge against him, or of his rights and obligations in a suit at law, every man shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by and under law. (ICCPR (1966), Article 14.1)"
Summary executions are illegal even during times of war, as the Second Additional Protocol of the Geneva Conventions (1977) states: "No sentence shall be passed and no penalty shall be executed on a person found guilty of an offence except pursuant to a conviction pronounced by a court offering the essential guarantees of independence and impartiality." (Second Protocol of the Geneva Conventions (1977) Art 6.2)
Historically, however, (in the early 20th century and earlier) summary execution of pirates, spies and franc-tireurs [1] (combatants without uniforms) may in some circumstances have been considered legal under international law or convention as it existed then.
