CAT/C/MCO/CO/4-5
5.
The Committee takes note with satisfaction of:
(a)
The entry into force of Act No. 1,343 of 26 December 2007 on justice and
liberty, amending certain provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which guarantees
the rights of persons held in police custody or pretrial detention. The Act also establishes a
system of compensation for unjustified pretrial detention;
(b)
The entry into force of Act No. 1,344 of 26 December 2007, on increased
penalties for crimes against children;
(c)
The entry into force of Act No. 1,312 of 29 June 2006 on the obligation to
justify administrative decisions, including refoulement decisions, failing which they will be
deemed null and void;
(d)
Sovereign Ordinance No. 605 of 1 August 2006, giving effect to the United
Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its two additional
protocols.
6.
The Committee also takes note with satisfaction of the organization of various
training and awareness-raising activities in the field of human rights, inter alia for judges
and police officers.
C.
Principal subjects of concern and recommendations
Definition and criminalization of torture
7.
The Committee notes that article 8 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which
establishes the jurisdiction of the courts for acts of torture committed abroad, refers to
article 1 of the Convention. However, it remains concerned that the Criminal Code, despite
having recently been revised, does not include a definition of torture that fully accords with
article 1 of the Convention. The Committee is also concerned at the lack of any specific
provision making torture an offence (arts. 1 and 4).
The State party should incorporate in its criminal law a definition of torture that is
fully consistent with article 1 of the Convention. The Committee considers that States
parties, by naming and defining the offence of torture in accordance with articles 1
and 4 of the Convention and by making it distinct from other crimes, will directly
advance the Convention’s overarching aim of preventing torture, inter alia, by
alerting everyone, including perpetrators, victims and the public, to the particular
gravity of the crime of torture and by increasing the deterrent effect of the prohibition
of torture.
Absolute prohibition of torture
8.
While noting that articles 127 to 130 of the Criminal Code, on abuse of authority,
severely punish unlawful orders issued by public authorities, the Committee is concerned
that the recent revisions of the State party’s Criminal Code do not include provisions
expressly prohibiting the invocation of exceptional circumstances or an order from a
superior officer or public authority as a justification of torture (art. 2).
The State party should adopt specific provisions prohibiting the invocation of
exceptional circumstances or an order from a superior officer as a justification of
torture, as recommended by the Committee in its previous concluding observations.
The State party should take effective legislative, administrative, judicial and other
measures to prevent acts of torture, including by strengthening safeguards for any
officer who refuses to carry out an illegal order given by a superior officer.
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