CAT/C/ARM/CO/4
(d)
The decision of November 2013 of the Constitutional Court, whereby article
17, paragraph 2, of the Civil Code was ruled unconstitutional for its failure to envisage nonpecuniary damage and provide a right to seek compensation for such damage;
(e)
The adoption of the Law on Probation, on 17 May 2016.
4.
The Committee also welcomes the initiatives of the State party to adopt policies,
programmes and administrative measures to give effect to the Convention, including:
(a)
The establishment of the Department for Investigation of Torture, comprising
eight investigators charged with investigating allegations of torture and ill-treatment, within
the Special Investigation Service;
(b)
The adoption of the charter and structure of the State Probation Service, on
14 July 2016;
(c)
The approval of the Action Plan for the implementation of the National
Strategy on Human Rights Protection, in February 2014.
5.
The Committee also commends the State party for the important work carried out
within the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly in promoting resolutions on
the prevention of genocide and the establishment of the International Day of
Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the
Prevention of this Crime.
C.
Principal subjects of concern and recommendations
Pending follow-up issues from the previous reporting cycle
6.
While noting with appreciation the information provided by the State party under the
follow-up procedure (CAT/C/ARM/CO/3/Add.1), the Committee regrets that the
recommendations identified for follow-up in its previous concluding observations
concerning allegations of torture and ill-treatment in police custody, fundamental legal
safeguards and investigations into allegations of torture and/or ill-treatment and impunity
(CAT/C/ARM/CO/3, paras. 8, 11 and 12, respectively) have not yet been fully
implemented.
Statute of limitations, amnesty and pardon
7.
The Committee regrets that, contrary to its previous recommendation (see
CAT/C/ARM/CO/3, para. 10), the current legislation still maintains the statute of
limitations in respect of the crime of torture and the possibility of granting pardon and
amnesty to perpetrators of torture and that individuals convicted of torture or ill-treatment
have benefited from amnesty in practice. The Committee takes note of the State party’s
plans to discuss the possibility of excluding the pardon, amnesty and statute of limitations
for torture in the context of a new legislative package that is currently being developed (arts.
1 and 4).
8.
Recalling its previous concluding observations (see CAT/C/ARM/CO/3, para.
10), the Committee urges the State party to repeal the statute of limitations for the
crime of torture or other acts amounting thereto under the Criminal Code. The State
party should also ensure that pardon, amnesty and any other similar measures
leading to impunity for acts of torture are prohibited both in law and in practice. In
this regard, the Committee draws the State party’s attention to paragraph 5 of its
general comment No. 2 (2007) on the implementation of article 2 of the Convention by
States parties, in which it states that amnesties or other impediments which preclude
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