A/HRC/27/47
been victims of unlawful arrest or detention, the Convention guarantees an enforceable
right to compensation (para. 9).
45.
The Committee on Migrant Workers has elaborated on the content of article 16 of
the International Convention in its general comment no. 2 (2013) on the rights of migrant
workers in an irregular situation and members of their families. The Committee has stated
that the scope of the judicial review cannot be confined to a formal assessment of whether
the migrant worker concerned entered the State party without a valid entry permit, without
the possibility of release if the detention is not established by law (ibid., para. 32). Further
reviews of the continued necessity and lawfulness of the detention should be carried out at
regular intervals by a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power.
The burden of proof rests on the detaining authorities to demonstrate that the presumption
in favour of liberty should be displaced. The migrant worker must have access to legal
representation and advice, if necessary free of charge, to challenge the lawfulness of
detention, and have timely access to effective legal remedies (ibid., para. 33;
CMW/C/BIH/CO/2, para. 26). A claim for compensation may be made where the arrest or
detention is found unlawful under national or international law and States parties must
ensure that the right to compensation can be effectively enforced before the competent
domestic authority (CMW/C/GC/2, para. 35). The Committee cautions States parties to
ensure that migrant workers and members of their families are not expelled while their
claim is being considered.
3.
Involuntary detention of persons with a disability
46.
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in article 14, requires
States Parties to “ensure that persons with disabilities … are not deprived of their liberty
unlawfully or arbitrarily, and that any deprivation of liberty is in conformity with the
law … If persons with disabilities are deprived of their liberty through any process, they
are, on an equal basis with others, entitled to guarantees in accordance with international
human rights law”. The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in its general
comment No. 1 on article 12 of the Convention regarding equal recognition before the law,
has affirmed that respecting the right to legal capacity of persons with disabilities on an
equal basis includes respecting the right of persons with disabilities to liberty and security
of the person (paras. 40 and 41). It has drawn attention to the problem of denial of the legal
capacity of persons with disabilities and their detention in institutions against their will,
without their consent or with the consent of a substitute decision-maker. This constitutes
arbitrary deprivation of liberty and violates articles 12 and 14 of the Convention. The
Committee requires States to refrain from such practices and to establish a mechanism to
review cases of placement in a residential setting without specific consent.
47.
The Committee has consistently held that disability is not a legitimate ground under
international law for depriving persons of their liberty (CRPD/C/SLV/CO/1, paras. 31 and
32) and that deprivation of liberty solely on the basis of disability is contrary to and violates
article 14 of the Convention (CRPD/C/PER/CO/1, paras. 28 and 29). Involuntary committal
or institutionalization on the grounds of disability, or perceived disability, particularly on
the basis of psychosocial or intellectual disability or perceived psychosocial or intellectual
disability, is not in compliance with the Convention, and the Committee has called upon
States to amend laws and to adopt measures to prohibit involuntary committal or
internment, and to design and implement de-institutionalization strategies
(CRPD/C/ARG/CO/1/ para. 23; CRPD/C/CHN/CO/1 paras. 25 and 26). The Committee
has emphasized that no individual can be deprived of his or her liberty against his or her
will in any kind of mental facility and that States parties are required to ensure that all
mental health services are provided on the basis of the free and informed consent of the
person concerned (CRPD/C/AUT/CO/1, paras. 29–31). States need to provide due process
of law guarantees and appropriate judicial review to persons with disabilities deprived of
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