Article 6 – Recognition before the law

What does this right mean?

Being recognised as a person before the law means you are recognised as a legal subject, and have legal rights and duties because of this. For this, it does not matter whether you are a resident of a country or a refugee or tourist. So people who are not residents or subjects of a country may also invoke human rights and are recognised before the law.

Besides the continuing tension and emotions such as sadness and fear, many who are left behind are dealing with various practical and financial problems, because their missing loved ones are considered alive before the law and one can't just get matters done for these absent people.

What is the history of this right?

During the drafting of the UDHR, not everyone was convinced this right had to be included. A survey showed only two constitutions referred to this ‘legal personality of people’. Legal personality means you have capacity to act. And that means you can carry out acts recognised by the law, such as: buying an apple, drafting a will or suing a person.

In the conversation on which rights to include in the UDHR, a number of people thought legal personality was too difficult as a legal concept or that it meant too little to regular civilians (after all, Article 7 of the UDHR already determines that everyone is equal before the law). Furthermore, Article 2 determines everyone is entitled to all rights and duties, in which discrimination is prohibited. This is why people believed acknowledging recognition by law would be redundant.

Others believed it was very important to document ‘legal personality’. Exactly after the Second World War, it was of great importance to protect all people from being placed outside the law. When someone is not recognised by the law, this means one is not protected by the law either.

Furthermore, a number of drafters believed the article was important for the fight against modern slavery. The thought that certain people were worth less than others, or that they could be other people's property, had to be impossible. There could be no doubt that all people have legal rights and duties.

Where and how is this right documented?

International

The right to recognition as a person is included in Article 16 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). And Article 26 of the ICCPR determines everyone is equal before the law.

Regional

Regionally, the right is included for North and South America in Article 3 of the Convention of San José, also called the American Convention on Human Rights. In the African Charter on Human And Peoples' Rights, also known as the Banjul Charter, the right is in Article 5. That Article not only states people have the right to recognition of their legal status, but also that all forms of exploitation and degradation are prohibited. Specifically slavery, slave trade and abuse.

Specific groups

The right is also documented in treaties on rights of certain groups of people. Such as in Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Article 12 section 1 determines that persons with disabilities are recognised before the law everywhere.

How topical is this human right?

One of the examples in which civilians are placed outside the law is during ‘forced disappearances’. This involves state authorities kidnapping someone and place them outside the law in the process. In one of the cases of such a disappearance, the UN Human Rights Commission made a statement on it. That was about the case Grioua versus Algeria from 2007, in which a civilian was deliberately placed outside the protection of the law for a longer period of time. Grioua invoked Article 16 of the ICCPR.

In its statement, the UN Human Rights Commission stated that such an action is a violation of the right to recognition as a person before the law. That was a new approach, because the principle is that the victim's legal status remains unchanged once they are forced to disappear. But the UN Commission stated: it is a violation of the right to recognition as a person, because the actions of the State render the person incapable of exercising their rights. The person may be recognised before the law on paper, but not in practice.