Hilaire, Constantine and Benjamin and Others v. Trinidad and Tobago

Abstract

Human rights — Right to life — Capital punishment — Whether prohibited by American Convention on Human Rights, 1969 — Limitations — Procedure to be followed — Requirement to take account of individual circumstances — Mandatory death penalty incompatible with the Convention — Access to court for challenges to death penalty — Due process — Right to apply for commutation of sentence — Procedure to be followed

Human rights — Cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment — Prison conditions — Death row prisoners — Conditions of detention amounting to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment — American Convention on Human Rights, 1969

Human rights — Due process — Requirements of fair trial — Capital case — Requirement of legal assistance

International tribunals — Provisional measures of protection — Court ordering stay of execution — Person concerned executed in defiance of provisional measures

Relationship of international law and municipal law — Treaties — American Convention on Human Rights, 1969 — Requirement that State ensure municipal law effectively guarantees Convention rights — Existence of law which contravenes such rights a breach of the Convention