Interesting move: The German and Brazilian delegations to the U.N. have opened talks with diplomats from 19 more countries to draft a General Resolution promoting the right of privacy on the Internet, based upon the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The ICCPR is not merely a declaration of intent, but an international treaty establishing international law, which was signed and ratified by most countries, including the US. However, during the ratification in the US, the US Senate included the declaration that the provisions of Article 1 through 27 of the Covenant are not self-executing (138 Cong. Rec. S4781-84 (1992)), meaning that the Covenant will not create a private cause of action in U.S. Courts. (S. Exec. Rep. No. 102-23 (1992)). As a result, the treaty is binding on the US externally, but in the absence of domestic law enactment by Congress it does not create an independent domestic law of the country and is thus not enforceable in US courts. Its going to be interesting where this will lead to. The UN Draft on Privacy can be found at scribd/doc/179039226/UN-Draft-on-Privacy
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 03:52:44 +0000