The Adoption and Function of International Instruments: Thoughts on Taiwan’s Enactment of the Act to Implement the ICCPR and the ICESCR
22 Ind. Int’l & Comp. L. Rev. 159 (2012)
34 Pages Posted: 4 Nov 2018
Date Written: January 1, 2012
Abstract
Taiwan implemented into its domestic law the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Covenants) on March 31, 2009, through the Act to Implement the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Taiwan Act). This Note discusses two major themes that have emerged from Taiwan's ratification of the Covenants. The first regards the salient meaning and implications of ratification and non-membership of international treaties along with the judicial adoption and the function of these international instruments. This salience derives from the fact that Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations and, in general, cannot be a member of the Covenants. At the same time, Taiwan has chosen to implement the Covenants into its domestic law, leaving open the issue of these instruments' legal status in domestic law and courts. The second theme is how and to what extent Taiwan, through both its government and civil society actors, plans to fulfill the duties embodied by the Covenants and ensure its accountability for those obligations.
Keywords: Taiwan, ICCPR, IESCR
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