KURT JUDGMENT OF 25 MAY 1998 16 D. The impact of Decree no. 285 62. In previous cases against the respondent State in which they were involved, the applicant’s representatives have pointed to certain legal provisions which in themselves weaken the protection of the individual which might otherwise have been afforded by the above general scheme. Decree no. 285 modifies the application of Law no. 3713 (the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1981), in those areas which are subject to the state of emergency, with the effect that the decision to prosecute members of the security forces is removed from the public prosecutor and conferred on local administrative councils. These councils are made up of civil servants and have been criticised for their lack of legal knowledge, as well as for being easily influenced by the regional governor or provincial governors, who also head the security forces. III. RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL MATERIAL 63. The applicant as well as Amnesty International in their written submissions to the Court have drawn attention to international material on the issue of forced disappearances. The Commission made reference to the following texts and decisions, which are analysed more fully in an appendix to its report (Article 31). A. United Nations material 64. The United Nations Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (G.A. res. 47/133, 18 December 1992) provides, inter alia: “The systematic practice of disappearance is of the nature of a crime against humanity and constitutes a violation of the right to recognition as a person before the law, the right to liberty and security of the person, the right not to be subjected to torture: it also violates or constitutes a grave threat to the right to life.” B. Case-law of the United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRC) 65. The United Nations Human Rights Committee, acting within the framework of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (“ICCPR”) has drawn up reports on a number of cases of forced disappearances: Quinteros v. Uruguay (107/1981) Report of the Human Rights Committee, GAOR, 38th Session, Supplement no. 40 (1983) Annex XXII, § 14; Mojica v. Dominican Republic, decision of 15 July