Author Description

Torture cannot be defined by a list of prohibited practices. Human rights treaties define it in a number of different ways, reflecting the different contexts in which they were drafted and the purposes of each particular treaty. It is impossible to draw a clear dividing line between 'torture' and other 'cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.' Both torture and ill treatment are prohibited in all circumstances by international law. In times of international armed conflict, ill treatment (described in the Geneva Conventions as "inhuman treatment" and "willfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health") is prohibited and criminalized as grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions. These grave breaches are also incorporated in the jurisdiction of the Yugoslavia Tribunal and of the International Criminal Court. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court prohibits torture when it constitutes genocide, a crime against humanity, or a war crime. This book examines case law on torture as a main issue on trial. Regulations and jurisprudence are discussed with regard to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and the International Criminal Court.