A foundational guide to the Human Rights Act 1998, the Citizens Protection Law, and the limits of state power under International Law.
Everyone's right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law.
This article contains two key duties for public authorities:
No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
This is an absolute right. There are no exceptions, no derogations, and no justifications permitted under any circumstances—including wartime, national emergency, or political crisis.
In the determination of his civil rights and obligations or of any criminal charge against him, everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law.
This preserves the foundational principle of the presumption of innocence. Trial by media, extrajudicial measures, and institutional leakages that prejudice jury trials are direct attacks on this fundamental mechanism of justice.
Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.
This guards your personal data, medical records, and domestic boundary against arbitrary state surveillance, police overreach, and invasive harassment by corporate publications.
The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status.
Our comprehensive Citizens Protection Law builds upon these core Human Rights articles to establish concrete protections in modern society. This legislation criminalizes relentless institutional and publisher harassment, ensures strict career-ending penalties for state officials who leak private details, and addresses systemic overreach.
The bedrock of the Citizens Protection Law is that nobody is above the law. Regardless of status, office, rank, or position of power, the rules apply equally to everyone. Crucially, the law specifies that taking someone's life, regardless of their position of power, is a fundamental breach of human rights. This applies from the highest levels of foreign or domestic leadership to the local constable. There is no executive privilege, national interest, or sovereign excuse that excuses the arbitrary deprivation of a human life.
By establishing civil and criminal liability for state bodies and publishing corporations alike, the Citizens Protection Law turns human rights from high-minded concepts into enforceable, everyday shields for normal working citizens.
The main difference is that Articles 1 and 13 of the ECHR are omitted from the Human Rights Act. This is because the Act itself fulfils Article 1 (the obligation to secure the rights) and Article 13 (the right to an effective remedy in domestic courts).
Below is the complete list of the substantive articles and protocols, along with a brief explanation of what each one protects.
Protects your right to life. The state cannot take your life arbitrarily and must take appropriate measures to safeguard it.
An absolute ban on torture and on inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Protects you from being held in slavery or servitude, and from being forced to perform compulsory labour.
Protects against arbitrary arrest and detention. You have the right to know why you have been arrested and the right to a speedy trial or release.
Guarantees a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal.
You cannot be charged with a criminal offence for an action that was not a crime at the time you committed it.
Protects your privacy, your family life, your home, and your correspondence from unjustified state interference.
The right to hold your own beliefs and to practise your religion openly, subject to certain necessary legal restrictions.
The right to hold opinions and to receive and share information and ideas without state interference.
The right to gather peacefully with others, including the right to form and join trade unions.
The right of men and women of marriageable age to marry and start a family.
The right to bring a complaint to a national court if your rights are violated.
Requires that all of the rights and freedoms set out in the Convention must be protected and applied without discrimination (e.g., based on sex, race, colour, language, religion, or political opinion).
Allows states to suspend certain rights during a war or major public emergency, but strictly limits what can be suspended.
Allows states to restrict the political activities of foreign nationals.
Prevents anyone from using the Convention's rights to destroy the rights of others.
Ensures that when a state does restrict a right (where permitted), it can only do so for the specific purpose allowed by the Convention.
Over the years, additional rights have been added to the ECHR as “Protocols.” The UK has ratified some, but not all, of these protocols. The ones included in the Human Rights Act (UK law) are:
The right to peacefully enjoy your property and possessions.
The right to access the educational system, and the requirement that the state respect parents' religious and philosophical convictions in teaching.
The requirement to hold regular, free, and secret elections.
A total ban on the death penalty in all circumstances, replacing the older Protocol 6.
These protocols exist within the wider European Convention framework, but because the UK government has not signed or ratified them, they are not part of the Human Rights Act:
Prohibits the imprisonment of people for civil debt, guarantees freedom of movement, and prohibits the collective expulsion of foreign nationals.
Adds specific rights regarding the expulsion of foreign nationals, the right to appeal in criminal matters, and equality between spouses.
Creates a standalone, general prohibition of discrimination on any grounds, expanding upon Article 14.
The central question in international law is whether such a targeted killing constitutes an "arbitrary" deprivation of life. Any action that bypasses legal frameworks or fails to meet strict criteria is deemed arbitrary, making the act a grave violation of international treaties.
The right to life is a foundational human right, enshrined most prominently in Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which states: "Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life."
The "Arbitrary" Standard: Under human rights law, a state may only use lethal force when it is strictly necessary and proportionate to protect against an imminent, direct threat to life (essentially, self-defense).
Extrajudicial Killings: Outside of an active, legally recognized armed conflict, the targeted killing or assassination of an individual—including a foreign leader—is considered an extrajudicial execution. Because it bypasses due process and does not meet the strict "imminent threat" criteria of law enforcement, it is an arbitrary deprivation of life and a direct breach of human rights.
If a situation is legally classified as an active international armed conflict (a state of war), the laws of armed conflict apply. Under IHL, the "right to life" is interpreted through the lens of military necessity and distinction.
Legitimate Targets: IHL permits the lethal targeting of combatants and those directly participating in hostilities, while strictly protecting civilians.
The Commander-in-Chief Dilemma: Ayatollah Khamenei is the political head of state, but under the Iranian Constitution, he is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
Legal Debate: While military commanders in an active war zone are considered legitimate targets, the targeting of high-level political leaders who also hold military titles is legally complex. If a leader is primarily engaged in political, civilian governance rather than directly commanding tactical military operations, striking them is often viewed by international legal scholars as a violation of IHL, which consequently violates their right to life.
Beyond individual human rights, the targeted killing of a foreign head of state by another nation involves the United Nations Charter. Assassinating a foreign leader violates a nation's sovereignty and breaches the prohibition on the use of force under Article 2(4), unless the attacking state can prove the strike was legally justified under the right of self-defense under Article 51 against an armed attack.
In summary, unless it occurs within the strict legal confines of an active armed conflict where the individual is actively functioning as a military combatant, or under the strict requirements of imminent self-defense, targeting a state leader is recognized internationally as an extrajudicial killing and a breach of the human right to life.