Vatican City, 2014 (VIS) – A state
based on the principles of rule of law and justice was the central
theme of the address given on 13 October at the United Nations in New
York by Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Holy See permanent observer
at the United Nations, during the 69th session of the General
Assembly.
“While commitment to the rule of law
would appear to be universal, there nonetheless remains persistent
disagreement about the definition of 'the rule of law'. The Holy See
Delegation has endorsed a definition of the rule of law, which is
both rationally and morally grounded upon the substantial principles
of justice, including the inalienable dignity and value of every
human person prior to any law or social consensus; and, as a
consequence of the recognition of this dignity, those elements of
fundamental justice such as respect for the principle of legality
(Nullum crimen sine lege), the presumption of innocence and the right
to due process. Likewise, regarding relations among States, the rule
of law means the paramount respect of human rights, equality of the
rights of nations; and respect for international customary law,
treaties (Pacta sunt servanda) and other sources of international
law. This definition, with its reference point in the natural law,
sidesteps self-referential definitional frameworks and anchors the
orientation of the rule of law within the ultimate and essential goal
of all law, namely to promote and guarantee the dignity of the human
person and the common good.
“For this reason, in future debates
of the rule of law my delegation would welcome increased attention to
the human person and the society in which he or she lives, because,
in addition to the police force, courts, judges, prosecutors and the
rest of the legal infrastructure, the rule of law is unattainable
without social trust, solidarity, civic responsibility, good
governance and moral education. The family, religious communities and
civil society play indispensable roles in creating a society that can
promote public integrity and sustain the rule of law. As Pope Francis
affirmed: 'When a society, whether local, national or global, is
willing to leave a part of itself on the fringes, no political
programs or resources spent on law enforcement or surveillance
systems can indefinitely guarantee tranquillity'. This is why the
promotion of the rule of law needs to be indispensably supported and
verified by prioritising the allocation of public resources to human
integral development.
Archbishop Auza went on to observe that
the UN Charter and the mandates contained within its purposes and
principles are at the centre of the international framework governing
rule of law. “In the exercise of these powers, it is appropriate to
emphasise the commitment of States to fulfil their obligations to
promote universal respect for, and the promotion and protection of,
all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all. If the
international rule of law is to reflect justice, frameworks to
international protection of persons must be fairly and impartially
applied by States to guarantee equal recourse to the protections
available under the UN Charter. I refer here in particular to
religious and ethnic minorities in the Middle East and other regions
awaiting urgent measures to effect this protection, including through
further legal elaboration of the responsibility to protect”.
He continued, “the 'responsibility to
protect' is a recognition of the equality of all before the law,
based on the innate dignity of every man and woman. The Holy See
wishes to reaffirm that every State has the primary duty to protect
its own population from grave and sustained violations of human
rights and from the consequences of humanitarian crises. If States
are unable to guarantee such protection, the international community
must intervene with the juridical means provided in the UN Charter
and in other international instruments. The action of the
international institutions, provided that it respects the principles
undergirding the international order, cannot be interpreted as an
unwarranted imposition or a limitation of sovereignty”.
Finally, the nuncio reiterated that the
Holy See hopes that the “alarming, escalating phenomenon of
international terrorism, new in some of its expressions and utterly
ruthless in its barbarity, be an occasion for a deeper and more
urgent study on how to re-enforce the international juridical
framework of a multilateral application of our common responsibility
to protect people from all forms of unjust aggression”.
