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4 - The European Convention on the Prevention of Toture compared with the United Nations Convention Against Torture and its Optional Protocol

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2009

Geir Ulfstein
Affiliation:
Universitetet i Oslo
Thilo Marauhn
Affiliation:
Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Germany
Andreas Zimmermann
Affiliation:
Christian-Albrechts Universität zu Kiel, Germany
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Summary

The focus of this essay lies on the European Convention on the Prevention of Torture drawing on the author's practical experiences. The UN Convention Against Torture and its procedures together with the newly adopted Optional Protocol will only be looked at for the purpose of comparison as these procedures may be seen as complementary with a potential of overlapping.

General issues

The European Convention on the Prevention of Torture

Basic features

The European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (ECPT) was adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 26 June 1987 and opened for signature by Member States of the Council of Europe on 26 November 1987; it entered into force on 1 February 1989.

The core provision of the Convention is the establishment of a European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (hereinafter, the ‘Committee’ or the ‘European Committee’ or ‘CPT’). The Committee is composed of a number of members equal to that of the parties to the Convention. The members are elected by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe from a list of three candidates drawn up by the Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly, which in turn is based on proposal made by the national delegations of the Members States. Members shall be independent and impartial, and professional experts in the areas covered by the Convention.

Type
Chapter
Information
Making Treaties Work
Human Rights, Environment and Arms Control
, pp. 91 - 112
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

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