A/HRC/26/36 1. Requirements for the use of force 55. Everyone has a right not to be arbitrarily deprived of his or her life, with “arbitrary” being understood here to mean unlawful in terms of international standards. This implies that the right to life is not an absolute right – it may be legitimately deprived under certain circumstances, but the limitations to this right are exceptional and must meet certain standards. The onus is on those who claim they were justified in taking a life – here the State – to show that it was done within the confines of these limits. Any deprivation of life must meet each of the following requirements, which together form the comprehensive or holistic set of requirements that should be posed by the domestic legal system. If any of these requirements is not met the deprivation of life will be arbitrary. (a) Sufficient legal basis 56. For the use of lethal force not to be arbitrary there must, in the first place, be a sufficient legal basis. This requirement is not met if lethal force is used without the authority being provided for in domestic law, or if it is based on a domestic law that does not comply with international standards.28 57. (b) The laws in question must also be published and be accessible to the public.29 Legitimate objective 58. Rights may be limited – and force may likewise be used – only in the pursuit of a legitimate objective. As will be discussed below, the only objective that can be legitimate when lethal force is used is to save the life of a person or to protect a person from serious injury. (c) Necessity 59. The use of force can be necessary only when a legitimate objective is pursued. The question is whether force should be used at all, and if so how much. This means that force should be the last resort (if possible, measures such as persuasion and warning should be used), and if it is needed, graduated force (the minimum required) should be applied. Any such force may also only be used in response to an imminent or immediate threat – a matter of seconds, not hours.30 60. Necessity in the context of lethal force has been said to have three components.31 Qualitative necessity means that the use of potentially lethal force (such as through a firearm) is not avoidable to achieve the objective. Quantitative necessity means the amount of force used does not exceed that which is required to achieve the objective. Temporal necessity means the use of force must be used against a person who presents an immediate threat. In the context of the use of lethal (or potentially lethal) force, absolute necessity is required. 61. Principle 4 mandates that law enforcement officials must, as far as possible, apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of force and firearms. Where non-violent means prove ineffective or without promise of achieving the intended result, necessity requires that the level of force used should be escalated as gradually as possible. 28 29 30 31 10 Human Rights Committee (see footnote 19 above). Nachova and Others v. Bulgaria, European Court of Human Rights, application Nos. 43577/98 and 43579/98 (6 July 2005), para. 102; also, see Melzer (footnote 19 above), p. 114. A/68/382, paras. 33-37 and A/HRC/14/24. Melzer (see footnote 19 above), p. 101.