What happens once a Committee decides a case?
It should be noted at the outset that there is no appeal against Committee decisions and that, as a rule, the decisions are final. What happens to the case subsequently depends on the nature of the decision taken.
- When the Committee decides that the facts before it disclose a violation by the State party of the complainant’s rights under the treaty, it invites the State party to supply information within a set time frame on the steps it has taken to give effect to its findings and recommendations.
- When the Committee decides that there has been no violation of the treaty or that the complaint is inadmissible, the case is closed.
The Committees’ decisions represent an authoritative interpretation of the treaty concerned. They contain recommendations to the State party.
All Committees have developed procedures to monitor whether States parties have implemented their recommendations (so-called follow-up procedures), since they consider that by accepting the procedure, States parties have also accepted to respect the Committee’s findings.
When the Committee concludes that a violation of the Covenant has taken place, the State is invited to provide information, within 180 days, on the steps it has taken to implement the recommendations.
The State’s response is then transmitted to the complainant for comments.
If the State party fails to take appropriate action, the case is kept under consideration by the Committee under the follow-up procedure. A dialogue is thus pursued with the State party and the case remains open until satisfactory measures are taken.
Information related to follow-up to the Committees’ Views and recommendations is not confidential and the meetings during which this information is discussed are public.