Macao: Strengthening Human Rights Safeguards
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4.3
in all cases". Article 6 further provides, "Sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed by persons below eighteen years of age and shall not be carried out on pregnant women." Many of these safeguards are not currently provided in the PRC where legal procedures, including trials which impose the death penalty, fall far short of international standards for fair trial.
Amnesty International recommends that the Basic Law be revised specifically to protect the right to life by reaffirming the present prohibition on the use of the death penalty with regard to offenses committed in Macao. The Draft Basic Law would also be considerably strengthened by the inclusion of language from the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR which states, "No one within the jurisdiction of a State Party to the present Protocol shall be executed."
Amnesty International recommends further that the procedural safeguards detailed in Articles 6 and 14 of the ICCPR be incorporated in the Draft Basic Law.
Right to a fair trial
4.3.1 The independence of the judiciary
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The judicial system of Macao is presently administered directly from Portugal under the Portuguese Civil Code. The Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration on the Question of Macao stipulated that "after the establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region, the laws, decrees, administrative regulations and other normative acts previously in force in Macao shall be maintained, save for whatever therein may contravene the Basic Law or subject to any amendment by the Macao Special Administrative Region legislature.'
The section of the Draft Basic Law which outlines the structure for the judicial system of Macao after 20 December 1999 (Articles 84 to 96) provides for courts of law to "exercise judicial power independently" and "free from any interference" (Article 85), and a Procuratorate which shall "independently" perform the prosecuting function "free from any interference" (Article 92). These statements of principle are complemented by provisions in Articles 89 to 91 which provide guidelines on the implementation of these principles. Articles 89 to 91 and Articles 94 and 95 afford some protection for the independence of the judiciary in regard to appointment, tenure and removal. Articles 89 to 91 cover such issues as the removal of judges, their selection and qualifications. In
6 Organic Statute of Macao, Law No. 1/76, February 10, 1976, Article 3(1).
Amnesty International November 1991
Al Index: ASA 27/01/91
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