Recent Developments in the Relationship between the Holy See and the “Treaty Bodies” of the UN

Abstract

Observing the ius Ecclesiae from the perspective of the international human rights law, this article intends to ascertain the most significant hubs of the debate between the papal diplomatic delegations and the UN Treaty bodies, in charge of monitoring the implementation of the relevant conventions within the national laws of States parties. Indeed, the advisory practice of these bodies has come to make inappropriate comments to the periodic reports of the Holy See, misunderstanding the nature of its domestic law and requesting substantial changes in order to conform it to the un interpretation of the human rights treaties. Hence, the urgency to both outline the similarities across the Treaty bodies practice, and draw a map of the main legal arguments adopted by the Holy See in multilateral fora.