Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs No 9 / 1996 Coll.
Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the negotiation of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Valid
Effective from 01.01.1996
9
COMMUNICATION
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that on 26 November 1987 the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment was adopted in Strasbourg.
On behalf of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, the Convention was signed in Strasbourg on 23 December 1992.
On 1 January 1993, by letter of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Czech Republic notified the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, the depositary of the Convention, that, in accordance with the applicable principles of international law, the successor State of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic is considered to be the signatory State of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of 26 November 1987. On 30 June 1993, the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers at the 496th Meeting of Ministers' Delegates confirmed that the Czech Republic is considered to be a signatory State of the Convention.
The Convention was approved by the Parliament of the Czech Republic and approved by it pursuant to Article 39 (4) of the Constitution of the Czech Republic as an international agreement on human rights and fundamental freedoms within the meaning of Article 10 of the Constitution of the Czech Republic. The President of the Republic has ratified the Convention.
The Ratification Charter of the Czech Republic was deposited with the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe on 7 September 1995.
The Convention entered into force on 1 February 1989 pursuant to Article 19 (1) and entered into force on 1 January 1996 for the Czech Republic pursuant to paragraph 2 of that Article.
The Czech translation of the Convention is announced simultaneously.
EUROPEAN CONVENTION
on preventing torture and inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment
Member States of the Council of Europe which have signed this Convention,
Observing the provisions of the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms;
Recalling that under Article 3 of the abovementioned Convention "no one may be tortured or subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment ';
Acknowledging that the mechanism provided for in this Convention operates in relation to persons deemed to be injured as a result of an infringement of Article 3;
convinced that the protection of persons deprived of liberty against torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment could be strengthened by out-of-court means of preventive nature based on visits;
agree on the following:
A European Committee is hereby established to prevent torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (hereinafter referred to as the Committee). The Committee shall, by means of visits, examine the treatment of persons deprived of liberty in order to strengthen the protection of those persons from torture and from inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment where necessary.
Each Party shall allow, with this Convention, a visit to any place under its jurisdiction where persons deprived of public authority are present.
The Committee and the relevant national authorities of the interested parties shall cooperate with each other in the implementation of this Convention.
1. The Committee shall consist of a number of members equal to the number of parties.
2. The members of the Committee shall be chosen from persons of a high moral character who are known to have human rights skills or have expertise in the areas covered by this Convention.
(3) Only one member of the same State may be a member of the Committee.
4. Members shall act as private persons, shall be independent and impartial and shall be available for the effective performance of their duties in the Committee.
1. The members of the Committee shall be elected by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe by a simple majority of the votes on the list drawn up by the Bureau of the Advisory Assembly of the Council of Europe; Each national delegation of the Parties to the Advisory Assembly shall propose three candidates, at least two of which shall be members.
2. The same procedure shall apply when filling the occasional vacancies.
The members of the Committee shall be elected for a period of four years. They can only be re-elected once. However, the term of the three members elected in the first elections shall expire after two years. Members whose term of office expires at the end of the first two-year period shall be identified by a draw drawn by the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe as soon as the first elections are completed.
The Committee's meetings shall not be public. The quorum consists of most of its members. Except for the provisions of Article 10 (2), decisions of the Committee shall be taken by a majority of the members present.
2. The Committee shall establish its rules of procedure.
The Secretary-General of the Council of Europe shall provide the secretariat of the Committee.
1. The Committee shall organise visits to the places referred to in Article 2. In addition to regular visits, the Committee may organise such additional visits which, in its view, are required by circumstances.
2. Visits are usually made by at least two members of the Committee. The Committee may, if it deems it necessary, be assisted by experts and interpreters.
1. The Committee shall notify the Government of the interested party of its intention to make a visit. After such notification, it may visit any place referred to in Article 2 at any time.
2. The Party shall provide the Committee with the following options for carrying out its task:
(a) access to their territory and the right to travel without restriction;
(b) any information concerning the places where persons deprived of liberty are present;
(c) unrestricted access to any place where freedom-deprived persons are present, including the right to move in such places without restriction;
(d) other information available to the Party necessary for the Committee to carry out its task. When requiring such information, the Committee shall take into account relevant rules of national law and professional ethics.
3. The Committee may, without other persons present, question persons deprived of liberty.
4. The Committee may meet freely with any person it considers to be able to provide the relevant information.
5. If necessary, the Committee may immediately communicate its findings to the competent authorities of the interested party.
1. In exceptional cases, the competent authorities of the interested parties may object to the Committee's visit at a certain time or place proposed by the Committee. Such objections may be raised only for reasons of State defence, public security, serious unrest in the places where persons are deprived of liberty, of the state of health or of an ongoing urgent hearing concerning a serious offence.
2. After such objections, the Committee and this Party shall immediately enter into consultations in order to clarify the situation and reach agreement on the measures enabling the Committee to carry out its duties promptly. Such measures may include the transfer of any person proposed by the Committee to another place. Pending the visit, the Party shall provide the Committee with information on any such person.
1. The Committee shall, after each visit, draw up a report on the facts found during the visit, taking into account any comments submitted by the interested party. It shall forward a report with the recommendations it deems necessary to the Party. The Committee may negotiate with the Party to propose, if necessary, improvements in the protection of persons deprived of liberty.
2. If the Party does not cooperate or refuses to improve the situation in the light of the Committee's recommendations, the Committee may, after having had the opportunity to express its views, decide by a two-thirds majority of its members to make a public statement on the matter.
1. The information gathered by the Committee in connection with its visit, its report and consultations with the interested party shall be confidential.
2. The Committee shall publish its report together with any comments from the interested party whenever requested by that Party.
3. However, no personal data may be disclosed without the explicit consent of the person concerned.
The Committee shall, in accordance with the confidentiality rules in Article 11, report annually to the Committee of Ministers on its activities, which shall be forwarded to the Advisory Assembly and published.
Members of the Committee, experts and other persons assisting the Committee shall be required, during and after their term of office, to remain silent about the facts or information they have learned in the performance of their duties.
1. The names of the persons assisting the Committee shall be indicated in the notification referred to in Article 8 (1).
2. Experts shall act on the basis of instructions and on behalf of the Committee. They shall have specific knowledge and experience in the areas covered by this Convention and shall be bound by the same obligations of independence, impartiality and accessibility as members of the Committee.
3. The Party may, exceptionally, declare that experts or other persons assisting the Committee may not be authorised to participate in a visit to a place under its jurisdiction.
Each Party shall communicate to the Committee the name and address of the Office responsible for receiving notifications to the Government and the liaison officer to whom it may appoint.
The Committee, its members and experts referred to in Article 7 (2) shall enjoy the privileges and immunities set out in the Annex to this Convention.
1. This Convention shall not prejudice the provisions of national law or any international agreement which give persons deprived of liberty greater protection.
2. Nothing in this Convention shall be interpreted as restricting or undermining the competence of the bodies of the European Convention on Human Rights or the commitments made by the Parties under this Convention.
3. The Committee shall not visit places which are effectively and regularly visited by representatives or delegates of the protection powers or the International Committee of the Red Cross on the basis of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and the Additional Protocols thereto of 8 June 1977.
This Convention shall be open for signature to the Member States of the Council of Europe. It shall be subject to ratification, acceptance or approval. The instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe.
1. This Convention shall enter into force on the first day of the month following the expiry of the three months following the date on which seven Member States of the Council of Europe have expressed their consent to be bound by this Convention in accordance with the provisions of Article 18.
2. For each Member State which subsequently gives its consent to be bound by this Convention, the Convention shall enter into force on the first day of the month following the expiry of three months from the date of deposit of the instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval.
1. Each State may, upon signature or deposit of the instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval, indicate the territory to which or to which this Convention will apply.
2. Each State may at any later date extend the application of this Convention to any other territory referred to in that Declaration by a declaration sent to the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe. In respect of that territory, the Convention shall enter into force on the first day of the month following the expiry of the three months following the date of acceptance of such a declaration by the Secretary-General.
3. Any declaration made pursuant to the two preceding paragraphs may be withdrawn in respect of each of the territories referred to in that declaration by a notification sent to the Secretary-General. The appeal shall take effect on the first day of the month following the expiry of the three months following the date of receipt of such notification by the Secretary-General.
No reservation may be made on the provisions of this Convention.
1. Each Party may terminate this Convention at any time by a communication to the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe.
2. This statement shall take effect on the first day of the month following the expiry of the 12 months following the date of receipt of the communication by the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe.
The Secretary-General of the Council of Europe shall notify the Member States of the Council of Europe of:
(a) any signature;
(b) the deposit of each instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval;
(c) each date of entry into force of this Convention in accordance with Articles 19 and 20;
(d) any other act, notification or communication concerning this Convention, with the exception of measures taken in the implementation of Articles 8 and 10.
They have signed this Convention to prove the signature of the signature duly empowered to do so.
Done at Strasbourg, 26 November 1987, in English and French, both texts being equally authentic, in one copy to be deposited in the archives of the Council of Europe. It shall send certified copies to all Member States of the Council of Europe.
Annex
Privileges and immunities
(Article 16)
1. For the purposes of this Annex, references to members of the Committee shall also be construed as references to experts referred to in Article 7 (2).
The members of the Committee shall enjoy the following privileges and immunities in the performance of their duties and during their travels:
(a) immunity from arrest or detention and confiscation of their personal luggage and from any action taken in the performance of their duties and in relation to statements or written speeches and any action taken in the performance of their duties;
(b) exemption from any restrictions on freedom of movement on departure and return to their country of permanent residence and on entry and departure from the country in which they perform their functions and from registration of aliens in the country they visit or pass through in the performance of their duties.
3. When travelling in the performance of their duties, members of the Committee shall be granted customs and foreign exchange checks:
(a) by their own government, the same relief as granted to senior officials travelling abroad with a temporary service mission;
(b) the governments of other parties have the same relief as those granted to representatives of foreign governments entrusted with a temporary service mission.
4. The documents and material of the Committee, as far as they relate to the work of the Committee, shall be inviolable.
Official correspondence and other official communications The Committee may not be detained or subject to censorship.
5. In order to ensure full freedom of speech and full independence in the performance of their duties, the Committee's members will continue to be exempt from the procedure in relation to statements or written speeches and any acts they have done in the performance of their duties, regardless of the fact that the persons concerned no longer perform such functions.
6. Privileges and immunities shall be granted to members of the Committee not for their personal benefit but for the purpose of ensuring the independent performance of their duties. Only the Committee shall be entitled to waive the immunity of its members; it has not only the right but also the obligation to waive the immunity of its members in any case where, in its view, immunity would impede the passage of justice and where it can be surrendered without prejudice to the purpose for which it is granted.
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Regulation Information
| Citation | Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs No 9 / 1996 Coll., on the negotiation of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment |
|---|---|
| Regulation Type | - |
| Author | - |
| Collection | Code of Laws |
| Date of Promulgation | 17.01.1996 |
|---|---|
| Effective from | 01.01.1996 |
| Effective until | - |
| Status | Valid |
The regulation text is for informational purposes only.
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