PART J
Significantly, while acceding to the ICCPR, India did not file any reservation or declaration to Article 17. While India filed reservations against Articles 1, 9 and 13, there was none to Article 17: “Article 1 refers to the right to self-determination. The reservation to Article 1 states that “the Government of the Republic of India declares that the words ‘the right of self-determination’ appearing in [this article] apply only to the peoples under foreign domination and that these words do not apply to sovereign independent States or to a section of a people or nation-which is the essence of national integrity. ‘ The reservation to Article 9, which refers to the right to liberty and security of person, detention and compensation payable on wrongful arrest or detention, states that “the government of the Republic of India takes the position that the provisions of the article shall be so applied as to be in consonance with the provisions of clauses (3) to (7) of article 22 of the Constitution of India. Further under the Indian Legal System, there is no enforceable right to compensation for persons claiming to be victims of unlawful arrest or detention against the State.” The reservation to Article 13 – which refers to protections for aliens, states that “the Government of the Republic of India reserves its right to apply its law relating to foreigners.”
On 30 June 2014, a report was presented by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.222 The report underscores that: “…there is universal recognition of the fundamental importance, and enduring relevance, of the right to privacy and of the need to ensure that it is safeguarded, in law and in practice.”223
“The Right to privacy in the Digital age”, Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (30 June 2014) 223 Ibid, at page 5 (para 13) 222
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