CAT/C/LVA/CO/2
page 2
c)
2005; and
The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, on 6 June
d)
The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially
Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational
Organized Crime, on 25 May 2004.
4.
The Committee notes with satisfaction the ongoing efforts at the State level to reform its
legislation, policies and procedures in order to ensure better protection of human rights,
including the right not to be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment, in particular:
a)
The Criminal Procedure Law which entered into force on 1 October 2005;
b)
The Law on the Procedure for Holding Apprehended Persons which entered into
force on 21 October 2005;
c)
July 2006;
The Law on Procedure of Detention on Remand which entered into force on 18
d)
The amendments to the Medical Treatment Law which entered into force on 29
March 2007, introducing a procedure of judicial review of compulsory voluntary placement of
patients in the psychiatric hospitals and their subsequent treatment;
e)
The establishment of the new Ombudsman institution on 1 January 2007,
replacing the Latvian National Human Rights Office;
f)
The establishment of the State Legal Aid Administration in 2006 and the
enactment on 17 March 2005 of the Law On State-Guaranteed Free Legal Aid;
g)
The Concept on the Development of Penitentiaries which was adopted by Cabinet
Decision No. 280 of 2 May 2005 to provide all inmates with treatment that would comply with
the necessary standards;
h)
The adoption in 2004 of the State Programme on the Prevention of Trafficking in
Human Beings (2004-2008); and
i)
The adoption on 5 December 2003 of the Professional Ethics and Conduct Code
of the State Police Personnel.
C. Principal subjects of concern and recommendations
Definition of torture
5.
Notwithstanding the State party’s assertion that under the Latvian Criminal Code all acts
that may be described as “torture” within the meaning of article 1 of the Convention are
punishable, the Committee is concerned that the State party has not incorporated into domestic
law the crime of torture as defined in article 1 of the Convention (arts. 1 and 4).
The State party should incorporate into domestic law the crime of torture and adopt a
definition of torture that covers all the elements contained in article 1 of the
Convention. By naming and defining the offence of torture in accordance with the
Convention and distinct from other crimes, the Committee considers that States
parties will directly advance the Convention’s overarching aim of preventing
torture, inter alia, by alerting everyone, including perpetrators, victims, and the