Universal human rights mechanism on guard of preservation or revision of the institution of family

Abstract

The article attempts to comprehensively analyze the institution of family, which is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and in two International Covenants on Human Rights - the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which together with the UDHR form the International Bill of Human Rights. The article examines the views of relevant treaty bodies empowered to monitor the implementation of the International Covenants on Human Rights by States parties, represented by the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in relation to the institution of the family, expressed by them in their general comments and related concluding observations on the periodic reports of States parties to the International Covenants. The opinions of the European Court of Human Rights and other human rights treaty bodies in relation to the institution of the family are also presented in comparative order. The article emphasizes that the preservation of the approach that was laid down in the institution of family in the relevant International Covenants on Human Rights, as well as deviations from it, which the author qualifies as ultra vires powers vested in the relevant human rights treaty bodies.