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OHCHR 
Predictable Review Cycle
Human Rights Committee
The Committee recalls its decision on the simplified reporting procedure (list of issues prior to reporting procedure), taken at its 123rd session in July 2018, whereby it adopted the simplified reporting procedure as a permanent feature of its reporting procedures and encouraged all States parties to accept it. The Committee also decided to strive to limit the number of questions in each list of issues to 25 questions.
With a view of giving further effect to General Assembly resolution 68/268, and pursuant to the Committee’s decisions on the position paper on 2020 adopted at its 125th session in March 2019 (Annex II), including the predictable review cycle, and the vision promulgated by the Chairpersons of the Treaty Bodies in their 31st meeting in June 2019 (Annex I), the Committee decided to:
- Move in 2020 to a predictable review cycle in order to improve predictability in reporting and to ensure regular reporting by all States parties, in line with resolution 68/268. The predictable review cycle will be based on an eight-year cycle, which includes periods for the submission of reports and constructive dialogue with the Committee.
- Shift from an opt-in model of simplified reporting procedure to an opt-out model.
- Introduce the simplified reporting procedure for initial reports.
- Continue its efforts to align its methods of work and the lists of issues it produces with other treaty bodies.
States parties that have already accepted the simplified reporting procedure are not expected to take any further action. States parties interested in maintaining the standard reporting procedure should indicate their decision to the Secretariat of the Committee by 31 December 2019.
| Simplified reporting procedure | Standard reporting procedure | |
| Year 1 | List of issues prior to reporting | Periodic report |
| Year 2 | Replies to list of issues prior to reporting | List of issues and Replies to list of issues |
| Year 3 | Periodic review (if needed, in the absence of replies) | Periodic review (if needed, in the absence of report and/or replies to the list of issues) |
| Year 4 | ||
| Year 5 | Follow-up on concluding observations | Follow-up on concluding observations |
References:
Decision of the Human Rights Committee on additional measures to simplify the reporting procedure and increase predictability
Position paper of the Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies on the future of the treaty body system (A/74/256, Annex III)
Study of the Human Rights Committee on the simplified reporting procedure (CCPR/C/123/3)