penalty may only be carried out pursuant to a final judgement rendered by a competent court.106 A sentence of death may not be imposed for crimes committed by persons below eighteen years of age and must not be carried out on pregnant women.107 On a related topic, the Advisory Council notes with concern incidents of extra-judicial killing, being police or military vigilante killings without due process of law. These are contrary to the right not to be arbitrarily deprived of life, the right to be free from torture and the right to a fair trial before a competent and impartial tribunal. The Advisory Council also notes with concern laws which give total immunity to law enforcement officers involved in such killings where there is no justification such as self-defence or defence of others. Finally, we note that the Conventions on Terrorism do not require specific penalties to be imposed for breaching the crimes set out in them. The Internationally Protected Persons Convention stipulates in Article 2, however: Each State Party shall make these crimes punishable by appropriate penalties which take into account their grave nature. The Draft Terrorism Convention in Article 4 uses identical wording and similar provisions are contained in the Hostages Convention, Article 2; Terrorist Bombing Convention, Article 4(b); Nuclear Materials Convention, Article 7(2); and the Safety of Maritime Navigation, Article 5. The Montreal Convention requires States to make offences set out in the Convention punishable by “severe penalties”.108 (ix) The international human rights standards that can be derogated from and in what circumstances SUMMARY OF ANSWERS • In no circumstances whatsoever can torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment be justified. death (for whatever crime) must have the right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence. The Advisory Council also notes that some countries will not extradite a person to a jurisdiction where they risk a mandatory death penalty. 106 Article 6(2), ICCPR. 62