Abstract
Article 3 of the ECHR encompasses an absolute right not to be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. This right proscribes, and demands protection from, treatment which is antithetical to human dignity. Over the years, what amounts to such treatment – and the obligations flowing therefrom – has been the subject of extensive interpretation by the ECtHR and domestic courts. Applicable in many contexts beyond the conventional scenario of interrogational torture, the right’s significance – and much of the backlash it has attracted – lies chiefly in the protections it demands for persons who fall through the cracks of the political process. This comment contemplates what is at stake, in terms of Article 3’s protections, in a potential UK departure from the ECHR, and concludes that a loss of the protection offered under Article 3 ECHR would facilitate (further) inhumanity, particularly against persons who are already othered, under-protected, and victimised.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1-19 |
Number of pages | 19 |
Journal | European Convention on Human Rights Law Review |
Early online date | 19 Feb 2024 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 19 Feb 2024 |
Keywords
- Article 3 ECHR
- torture
- inhuman or degrading treatment
- refoulement
- positive obligations
- common law constitutional rights
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Law