The Commissioners of LLRC

judicial or other decision concerning them to be null and void; their detention shall be ended
unconditionally and without delay;
(d) Any individual convicted of offences other than those to which paragraph (c) of this principle
refers who comes within the scope of an amnesty is entitled to refuse it and request a retrial,
if he or she has been tried without benefit of the right to a fair hearing guaranteed by articles
10 and 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 9, 14 and 15 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, or if he or she was convicted on the basis of
a statement established to have been made as a result of inhuman or degrading interrogation,
especially under torture.
PRINCIPLE 25. RESTRICTIONS ON THE RIGHT OF ASYLUM
Under article 1, paragraph 2, of the Declaration on Territorial Asylum, adopted by the General
Assembly on 14 December 1967, and article 1 F of the Convention relating to the Status of
Refugees of 28 July 1951, States may not extend such protective status, including diplomatic
asylum, to persons with respect to whom there are serious reasons to believe that they have
committed a serious crime under international law.
PRINCIPLE 26. RESTRICTIONS ON EXTRADITION/NON BIS IN IDEM
(a) Persons who have committed serious crimes under international law may not, in order to avoid
extradition, avail themselves of the favourable provisions generally relating to political offences
or of the principle of non-extradition of nationals. Extradition should always be denied, however,
especially by abolitionist countries, if the individual concerned risks the death penalty in the
requesting country. Extradition should also be denied where there are substantial grounds for
believing that the suspect would be in danger of being subjected to gross violations of human
rights such as torture; enforced disappearance; or extra-legal, arbitrary or summary execution.
If extradition is denied on these grounds, the requested State shall submit the case to its
competent authorities for the purpose of prosecution;
(b) The fact that an individual has previously been tried in connection with a serious crime under
international law shall not prevent his or her prosecution with respect to the same conduct if
the purpose of the previous proceedings was to shield the person concerned from criminal
responsibility, or if those proceedings otherwise were not conducted independently or impartially
in accordance with the norms of due process recognized by international law and were
conducted in a manner that, in the circumstances, was inconsistent with an intent to bring the
person concerned to justice.
PRINCIPLE 27. RESTRICTIONS ON JUSTIFICATIONS RELATED TO DUE OBEDIENCE,
SUPERIOR RESPONSIBILITY, AND OFFICIAL STATUS
(a) The fact that the perpetrator of violations acted on the orders of his or her Government or
of a superior does not exempt him or her from responsibility, in particular criminal, but may be
regarded as grounds for reducing the sentence, in conformity with principles of justice;
(b) The fact that violations have been committed by a subordinate does not exempt that
subordinate’s superiors from responsibility, in particular criminal, if they knew or had at the time
reason to know that the subordinate was committing or about to commit such a crime and they
did not take all the necessary measures within their power to prevent or punish the crime;
(c) The official status of the perpetrator of a crime under international law - even if acting as head
of State or Government - does not exempt him or her from criminal or other responsibility and is
not grounds for a reduction of sentence.
THE WAIT FOR JUSTICE 53