This book provides a representative although non-exhaustive account of the jurisprudence by the Human Rights Committee during the first 30 years of its operation as the monitoring body under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Through 50 leading cases in individual complaints decided by the end of the year 2006 under the Optional Protocol to the Covenant and thematic section introductions that include references to 100 more cases the compilation demonstrates both the development of the Committee's case law and the law as it today stands as a result of that development. The cases are organized into twelve thematic sections which cover most of the substantive law under the Covenant: Life, Torture and inhuman treatment, Liberty and security, Fair trial, Movement, Privacy and family, Religion and conscience, Expression, assembly and association, Discrimination, Minorities, Public participation and Self-determination. In addition, an introductory chapter makes concise analysis of the Optional Protocol procedure including the admissibility conditions, as well as of certain general issues related to the Covenant. As annexes, the book includes the text of the Covenant and its two optional protocols, excerpts from the Rules of procedure of the Human Rights Committee, a short bibliography and guide to Internet resources on the Covenant, a case index and an alphabetical subject index.