Would the death penalty be abolished definitely in a State party? Is it the Second Optional Protocol irrevocable?
The Second Optional Protocol is significant at a national level since it virtually precludes reinstatement of the death penalty. Indeed, any State party wishing to reintroduce the death penalty would first have to withdraw from the Protocol. Unusually there is not a withdrawal mechanism in the Protocol. The absence in the Protocol of a procedural clause for withdrawal means that once a State has ratified the Second Optional Protocol the death penalty can never be reintroduced without violating international law.
