CAT/C/CR/32/1
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(c)
The reform of the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure to bring
them into line with European human rights standards;
(d)
The contributions made every year since 1994 to the United Nations Voluntary
Fund for Victims of Torture.
C. Subjects of concern
4.
The Committee expresses concern about:
(a)
The lack of a definition of torture in criminal law that covers all the constituent
elements contained in article 1 of the Convention;
(b)
The lack of any provision expressly prohibiting the invocation of exceptional
circumstances or orders from a superior officer or a public authority as a justification for torture;
(c)
The weakness of the safeguards associated with the expulsion and return
(refoulement) of foreigners, inasmuch as there appears to be no clause on non-refoulement in
Monaco’s domestic law that meets the requirements of article 3 of the Convention and appeal to
the Supreme Court does not automatically have suspensive effect;
(d)
The narrow scope of articles 228 and 278 of the Criminal Code, which do not
fully meet the requirements of article 4 of the Convention, since they relate only to murder
committed by means of acts of torture or accompanied by acts of cruelty and to torture
committed in the course of unlawful arrest or abduction;
(e)
The fact that persons in custody are not entitled to the assistance of counsel, there
being no provision for such assistance until they first appear before the investigating magistrate,
and can inform their next of kin that they have been detained only with the magistrate’s
authorization;
(f)
The lack of explicit provisions requiring a register of individuals held in police
premises, even if such registers are actually kept;
(g)
The absence of any mechanism to monitor physical prison conditions and how
prisoners are treated in French penitentiary establishments.
D. Recommendations
5.
The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a)
Establish in its domestic criminal law a definition of torture that is fully consistent
with article 1 of the Convention;
(b)
Enact in its domestic law a prohibition on the invocation of exceptional
circumstances or orders received from a superior officer or public authority as a justification of
torture;