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EXTRADITION | DEATH PENALTY | LIFE IMPRISONMENT | 1997 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT | HUMAN DIGNITY

 

Constitutional Court, judgment no. 1/2001, 10.01.2001

 

JURISDICTION: Constitutional

CASE: 742/99

SUBJECT: Constitutional review

RAPPORTEUR: Sousa e Brito

RULING: Decides not to declare the unconstitutionality of the norm in Article 6(2)(a) of Law no. 144/99, of 31 August 1999, where it allows the extradition for the cases of subparagraph (e), provided that the requesting state has previously commuted the death penalty or another penalty resulting in an irreversible damage to the person’s integrity by an act which is irrevocable and binding on its courts and other entities in charge of the execution of the sentence.

DOMESTIC LAW:

Portuguese Constitution [Articles 1, 2, 18, 25, 27, 30(1), 33, 281(2)(d), 288(d)]

Law no. 144/99, of 31 August 1999 (Article 6)

Decree-Law no. 43/91, of 22 January 1991 [Article 6(1)(e)]

Law of 1 July 1867 (Article 6)

Constitutional Court, judgment no. 417/95, 04.07.1995

Constitutional Court, judgment no. 430/95, 06.07.1995

Constitutional Court, judgment no. 449/95, 06.07.1995

Constitutional Court, judgment no. 474/95, 17.08.1995

Constitutional Court, judgment no. 1146/96, 12.11.1996

Constitutional Court, judgment no. 254/99, 04.05.1999

INTERNATIONAL LAW:

European Convention on Extradition, 1957

FOREIGN LAW: n.a.

KEYWORDS: Extradition; death penalty; life imprisonment; 1997 constitutional amendment; human dignity; penalty resulting in irreparable damage to physical integrity; law of the requesting state; international cooperation in criminal matters; centuries-old humanistic tradition in the fight against the death penalty; spirit of respect and safeguard of human rights; protection of human life; foreign citizens who reside or happen to be in Portugal; Portuguese citizens; factual circumstances on the ground in the requesting state; effective rule of law; international responsibility of the offender state; protection from the Portuguese state; legal impossibility to apply the death penalty; extradition requests by the People’s Republic of China; Chinese citizens detained in Macau; Varizo affair; United States of America; reciprocity requirement; assimilation of life imprisonment to the death penalty for extradition purposes; political and diplomatic assurances; Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement; Yugoslav citizen; Germany; Dublin Convention; validity of obligations undertaken in international agreements; historic and cultural heritage to preserve; international public opinion; European heritage; corrective readings of the Constitution; excessive generosity on the part of the Constitutional Court; excess of “boy-scout spirit”; our culture; historical element of interpretation; Italian citizen; international convention; foreign state; mere assurance of non-execution; international public order of the Portuguese state; rule of law principle; limitation to the principle of guilt; unnecessary penalties; persons able to choose what is right and to be recovered for society; maximum value of huma life; irreversibility of the death penalty; abolitionist international policy; Amnesty International

COMMENTS: Coming soon.

REFERENCES IN THE LITERATURE:

MAC CRORIE, Benedita, “O recurso ao princípio da dignidade da pessoa humana na jurisprudência do Tribunal Constitucional” [The principle of human dignity in the case law of the Constitutional Court], in AAVV, Estudos em Comemoração do 10.º Aniversário da Licenciatura em Direito da Universidade do Minho, Coimbra, Almedina, 2003, pp. 151-174.

MIRANDA, Jorge, e MEDEIROS, Rui, Constituição Portuguesa Anotada [Annotation to the Portuguese Constitution], tomo I, 2.ª ed., Coimbra, Wolters Kluwer/Coimbra Editora, 2010.

 

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Posted inHUMAN DIGNITY   EXTRADITION DEATH PENALTY LIFE IMPRISONMENT 1997 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
TagsGermany Amnesty International Varizo Affair Italian Citizen Yugoslav Citizen Chinese Citizens Detained in Macau Foreign Citizens Who Reside or Happen to Be in Portugal Portuguese Citizens Factual Circumstances on the Ground in the Requesting State Reciprocity Requirement Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement Dublin Convention International Convention International Cooperation in Criminal Matters Human Dignity Law of the Requesting State Effective Rule of Law Historical Element of Interpretation Assimilation of Life Imprisonment to the Death Penalty for Extradition Purposes Spirit of Respect and Safeguard of Human Rights Foreign State United States of America Excess of “Boy-Scout Spirit” Extradition Mere Assurance of Non-Execution Political and Diplomatic Assurances Excessive Generosity on the Part of the Constitutional Court Legal Impossibility to Apply the Death Penalty Irreversibility of the Death Penalty Corrective Readings of the Constitution Limitation to the Principle of Guilt Maximum Value of Human Life Our Culture International Public Opinion International Public Order of the Portuguese State European Heritage Historic and Cultural Heritage to Preserve Extradition Requests by the People's Republic of China Death Penalty Life Imprisonment Penalty Resulting in Irreparable Damage to Physical Integrity Unnecessary Penalties Persons Able to Choose What is Right and to be Recovered For Society Abolitionist International Policy Princípio do Estado de Direito Protection of Human Life Protection From the Portuguese State International Responsibility of the Offender State 1997 Constitutional Amendment Centuries-Old Humanistic Tradition in the Fight Against the Death Penalty Validity of Obligations Undertaken in International Agreements