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E/C.12/GC/17 page 12 Violations of the obligation to respect 44. Violations of the obligation to respect include State actions, policies or laws which have the effect of infringing the right of authors to be recognized as the creators of their scientific, literary and artistic productions and to object to any distortion, mutilation or other modification of, or other derogatory action in relation to, their productions that would be prejudicial to their honour or reputation; unjustifiably interfering with the material interests of authors, which are necessary to enable those authors to enjoy an adequate standard of living; denying authors access to administrative, judicial or other appropriate remedies to seek redress in case their moral and material interests have been violated; and discriminating against individual authors in relation to the protection of their moral and material interests. Violations of the obligation to protect 45. Violations of the obligation to protect follow from the failure of a State to take all necessary measures to safeguard authors within their jurisdiction from infringements of their moral and material interests by third parties. This category includes such omissions as the failure to enact and/or enforce legislation prohibiting any use of scientific, literary or artistic productions that is incompatible with the right of authors to be recognized as the creator of their productions or that distorts, mutilates or otherwise modifies, or is derogatory towards, such productions in a manner that would be prejudicial to their honour or reputation or that unjustifiably interferes with those material interests that are necessary to enable authors to enjoy an adequate standard of living; and the failure to ensure that third parties adequately compensate authors, including indigenous authors, for any unreasonable prejudice suffered as a consequence of the unauthorized use of their scientific, literary and artistic productions. Violations of the obligation to fulfil 46. Violations of the obligation to fulfil occur when States parties fail to take all necessary steps within their available resources to promote the realization of the right to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from one’s scientific, literary or artistic productions. Examples include the failure to provide administrative, judicial or other appropriate remedies enabling authors, especially those belonging to disadvantaged and marginalized groups, to seek and obtain redress in case their moral and material interests have been infringed, or the failure to provide adequate opportunities for the active and informed participation of authors and groups of authors in any decision-making process that has an impact on their right to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from their scientific, literary or artistic productions. V. IMPLEMENTATION AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL National legislation 47. The most appropriate measures to implement the right to the protection of the moral and material interests of the author will vary significantly from one State to another. Every State has a considerable margin of discretion in assessing which measures are most suitable to meet its specific needs and circumstances. The Covenant, however, clearly imposes a duty on each State

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GENERAL COMMENT No. 17 (2005) The right of everyone to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he or she is the author (article 15, paragraph 1 (c), of the Covenant)

General Comments

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Rights Involved

Right to take part in cultural life
Rights of indigenous peoples

Issue

Non-retrogression
Progressive realization

International Human Rights Body

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Date: Jan 12, 2006

Summary: This CESR General Comment focuses on the normative content, states parties' obligations and violations, along with implementation at the national level, of the right of everyone to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he or she is the author, which is a human right. The Covenant obliges each State party to take the necessary steps to the maximum of its available resources. A State which is unwilling to use the maximum of its available resources for the realization of the right of authors to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from their scientific, literary and artistic productions is in violation of its obligations under article 15, paragraph 1 (c). If resource constraints render it impossible for a State to comply fully with its obligations under the Covenant, it has the burden of justifying that every effort has been made to use all available resources at its disposal to satisfy, as a matter of priority, the core obligations of this right.

Primary Documents

E:C.12:GC:17.pdf
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Resourcing Rights

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GENERAL COMMENT No. 17 (2005) The right of everyone to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he or she is the author (article 15, paragraph 1 (c), of the Covenant)

Primary Documents

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