Individual communications

CCPR Working Methods and Guidelines on Individual Communications

The Human Rights Committee can receive and consider individual communications, also known as complaints, from or on behalf of a person or group of persons claiming to be victims of a violation of the Covenant by a State party (set out in the Optional Protocol to CCPR).

Under the Optional Protocol, there is no time limit to submit complaints to the Committee. However, in order to prevent possible abuse in this respect, the Committee introduced a rule in its rules of procedure (current Rule 96 (c)) regarding delays in submission. According to it, a delay in submission will not automatically constitute an abuse of the right of submission. However, there might be abuse when the complaint is submitted after five years from the exhaustion of domestic remedies or, where applicable, after three years from the conclusion of another procedure of international investigation or settlement, unless there are reasons justifying the delay taking into account all the circumstances of the case.

The Human Rights Committee has developed some exceptions to the rule that it cannot examine facts occurred before the entry into force of the Optional Protocol for the State concerned. Thus, it is usually a sufficient ground for the Committee to examine the complaint if, after the date of entry into force of the Optional Protocol, there has been a court decision or some other State act validating the facts preceding that date which constitute the purpose of the complaint.

The Human Rights Committee cannot examine a complaint if the same matter is at the same time being examined by another mechanism of international investigation or settlement. Some States parties have made reservations to exclude the competence of the Committee not only to cases being examined but also to cases that have been examined and decided by another international mechanism. The Committee considers that the Human Rights Council Complaint Procedure (previously known as 1503 procedure) and complaints submitted to special rapporteurs or working groups of the Human Rights Council do not constitute such a mechanism. Accordingly, a complaint to the Human Rights Committee will not be declared inadmissible if it has been submitted to these mechanisms.

As to what constitutes “the same matter”, the Committee understands it as relating to the same author, the same facts and the same substantive rights. Facts that have been submitted to another international mechanism can be brought before the Committee if the Covenant provides for a broader protection. Furthermore, complaints dismissed by other international mechanisms on procedural grounds are not considered to have been substantively examined; the same facts may therefore be brought before the Committee.

Complaints under the Optional Protocol to the Covenant that contain the necessary prima facie elements are referred to the Committee’s Special Rapporteur on New Communications and Interim Measures, who decides whether the case should be registered and transmitted to the State party for observations. Given the large number of complaints submitted to the Committee, there may be a delay of several years between the initial submission and the Committee’s final decision.

Please see more information on individual communications procedures and jurisprudence of treaty bodies.

Pending complaints

The Committee publishes anonymized lists of complaints which it has not examined yet

• Pending cases by year of registration (up to June 2026)
• Pending cases by State Party (up to June 2026)

Registered and adopted complaints

The Committee publishes an anonymized list of all complaints that have been registered on an annual basis, as well as their status of adoption. This list is not comprehensive.

• Browse complaints made to the Human Rights Committee in the jurisprudence database
• Table of registered cases 2026 (up to 30 June 2026) (pdf)
• Table of registered cases 2025 (up to 31 December 2025) (pdf)
• Table of registered and adopted cases 2024 (updated in February 2026) (pdf)
• Table of registered and adopted cases 2021-2023 (updated in September 2026) (pdf)
• Table of registered and adopted cases 2017-2020 (updated in September 2026) (pdf)

Follow-up to Views 

The Committee has established a follow-up procedure for communications by designating a special rapporteur for follow-up on views for the purpose of ascertaining the measures taken by the States parties to give effect to the Committee's views. The special rapporteur shall make recommendations for further action by the Committee as necessary and shall regularly report to the Committee on follow-up activities.

Note by the Human Rights Committee on the procedure for follow-up on Views

For follow-up reports, please see the following link.

Interim measures

When a complaint is first submitted, the Committee may sometimes request the State party concerned to take what are called ‘interim measures’ to avoid irreparable damage to the alleged victim while the complaint is being considered. These measures are designed to preserve the respective rights of the parties until the Committee takes a decision on a complaint.

Oral comments

The Committee decided that it would consider, in appropriate cases raising complex issues of fact or domestic law or important questions of interpretation of the Covenant, inviting the parties to provide their comments orally before the Committee.

Guidelines on making oral comments concerning communications

Reparations

In December 2005, the General Assembly adopted Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law.

Guidelines on measures of reparation

Learn more: Treaty bodies communications page