United Nations. Human rights / constitutional. Treaty

ICCPR Art 17International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 17

In force

§1Summary

Synopsis

This is a binding treaty. Article 17 bans arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy, family, home or correspondence, and requires states parties to protect people from such interference by law. The Human Rights Committee monitors compliance through state reports and, for states that accept it, individual complaints.

Key themes

right to privacy
state obligations
legality
arbitrariness
individual communications

Unique features

It is the main binding global privacy guarantee and has about 170+ parties. General Comment 16 reads it as covering the gathering and holding of personal information, including by private bodies.

SaaS relevance

It binds states, not companies, but it shapes national privacy laws and the rules on government access to the data SaaS providers hold.

§2Obligations

Breach notification: None
DPO: No
Cross-border transfers: None
Maximum penalty: None (treaty-body views; no fines)

§3Dates

Key dates

Adopted 16 December 1966
In force 23 March 1976
Adopted by GA resolution 2200A (XXI) on 1966-12-16; in force 1976-03-23. Human Rights Committee General Comment No. 16 on Article 17 was issued in 1988.

§4Text and authority

Text

Authoritative text ohchr.org

Authority

UN Human Rights Committee (treaty body)

§5Where it applies

Members of the body

Membership-based — check ratification status. Membership of United Nations does not mean a state has signed or ratified this instrument.

§6Sources and verification

Sources consulted

Verification

High confidence.

The party count is approximate and was not re-checked against the UN Treaty Collection.