Preventing Torture An Operational Guide for National Human Rights Institutions At the domestic level, States should adopt explicit legislative provisions that: • prohibit any act of torture and stipulate that no exceptional circumstance may be invoked to justify torture (possibly at the Constitutional level) • make acts of torture, wherever in the world they are committed, a specific offence under criminal law • include appropriate penalties to punish the crime of torture • stipulate that an order from a superior may not be invoked to justify torture • make inadmissible in legal proceedings evidence that is gathered through the use of torture. In addition, the following legal safeguards for persons deprived of their liberty should be provided: • the right to have family members or a third party informed of their whereabouts following their arrest • the right to have access to a lawyer and to have the lawyer present during interrogation • the right to have access to a medical doctor, possibly of own choosing • the right to remain silent • the right to be brought before a magistrate or judge within a reasonable period of time • the right to challenge the legality of their detention and treatment • the right to be informed of these rights in language that is understandable to them. Implementation of the legal framework Effective implementation requires practical measures to be taken on a range of levels to ensure that national laws regarding torture and ill-treatment are respected in practice. Training and education The different actors involved in implementing the legal framework, and in particular those within the criminal justice system (such as law enforcement officials, judges and detaining authorities), will require proper training – both initial and ongoing – regarding the normative framework and the development of operational practices that respect these norms. Procedural measures Procedural safeguards should be put in place and operate as intended, in particular for persons deprived of their liberty. This could include ensuring that all registers in places of detention are properly maintained and that there is a regular review of police codes of conducts. Investigation and punishment Allegations of torture must be promptly, impartially and effectively investigated13, even in the absence of a formal complaint, and “the investigation must seek both to determine the nature and circumstances of the alleged acts and to establish the identity of any person who might be involved.”14 Any breach of the law must be appropriately sanctioned. When this does not occur, a culture of impunity develops which can undermine both the force of the law and its implementation. 13 See the jurisprudence of the Human Rights Committee, in particular Rodriguez v. Uruguay, Human Rights Committee, Communication 322/1988, views adopted on 19 July 1994; and Vadivel Sathasivam and Ms Parathesi Saraswathi v. Sri Lanka, Human Rights Committee, Communication 1436/2005, views adopted on 8 July 2008. 14 See Blanco Abad v. Spain, Committee against Torture, Communication 59/1996, views adopted on 14 May 1998. On the scope of investigation, see M’Barek v. Tunisia, Committee against Torture, Communication 60/1996, views adopted on 10 November 1999. 6 | Introduction: The concept of torture prevention and its application