LegalizeCriminal Justice (United Nations Convention Against Torture) Act 2000
1 Interpretation.
1.—(1) In this Act—
“the Act of 1965” means the Extradition Act, 1965;
“the Act of 1973” means the Genocide Act, 1973;
“the Act of 1987” means the Extradition (European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism) Act, 1987;
“the Convention” means the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment adopted by resolution 39/46 of the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10 December 1984, the text of which, in the English language, is, for convenience of reference, set out in the Schedule to this Act;
“the Minister” means the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform;
“the offence of torture” shall be construed in accordance with section 2 of this Act;
“public official” includes a person acting in an official capacity;
“torture” means an act or omission by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person—
(a) for such purposes as—
(i) obtaining from that person, or from another person, information or a confession,
(ii) punishing that person for an act which the person concerned or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or
(iii) intimidating or coercing that person or a third person,
or
(b) for any reason that is based on any form of discrimination,
but does not include any such act that arises solely from, or is inherent in or incidental to, lawful sanctions.
(2) Any reference in this Act to any other enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended by or under any other enactment including this Act.
2 Offence of torture.
2.—(1) A public official, whatever his or her nationality, who carries out an act of torture on a person, whether within or outside the State, shall be guilty of the offence of torture.
(2) A person, whatever his or her nationality, other than a public official, who carries out an act of torture on another person, whether within or outside the State, at the instigation of, or with the consent or acquiesence of, a public official shall be guilty of the offence of torture.
(3) A person guilty of the offence of torture shall be liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for life.
3 Related offences.
3.—A person, whatever his or her nationality, whether within or outside the State, who—
(a) attempts to commit or conspires to commit the offence of torture, or
(b) does an act with the intent to obstruct or impede the arrest or prosecution of another person, including a person who is a public official, in relation to the offence of torture,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for life.
4 Prohibition on expulsion or refoulement of person to another state where he or she may be tortured.
4.—(1) A person shall not be expelled or returned from the State to another state where the Minister is of the opinion that there are substantial gounds for believing that the person would be in danger of being subjected to torture.
(2) For the purposes of determining whether there are such grounds, the Minister shall take into account all relevant considerations including, where applicable, the existence in the state concerned of a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights.
5 Proceedings under Act.
5.—(1) Proceedings for an offence under this Act may be taken in any place in the State and the offence may for all incidental purposes be treated as having been committed in that place.
(2) Where a person is charged with an offence under this Act, no further proceedings in the matter (other than a remand in custody or on bail) shall be taken except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
(3) No proceedings shall be taken under section 38 of the Act of 1965 in respect of an act that constitutes an offence under—
(a) that section, and
(b) this Act.
(4) A person charged with an offence under this Act shall be tried by the Central Criminal Court.
6 Amendment of Defence Act, 1954.
6.—The Defence Act, 1954, is hereby amended—
(a) in section 169 (as amended by section 7 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1990), by the insertion in subsection (3) after paragraph (d) of the following:
“(dd) if he is convicted of an offence under the Criminal Justice (United Nations Convention against Torture) Act, 2000, be liable to imprisonment for life.”,
and
(b) in section 192, by—
(i) the insertion in subsection (2)(c) after “or genocide” (inserted by section 5 of the Act of 1973) of “or an offence under the Criminal Justice (United Nations Convention against Torture) Act, 2000”, and
(ii) the insertion in subsection (3) after “genocide” (inserted by section 5 of the Act of 1973) of “an offence under the Criminal Justice (United Nations Convention against Torture) Act, 2000,”.
7 Amendment of Act of 1965.
7.—The Act of 1965 is hereby amended—
(a) in section 3(1), by the insertion of the following definition:
“‘torture’ has the meaning assigned to it by the Criminal Justice (United Nations Convention against Torture) Act, 2000.”,
(b) in section 11, by the insertion after subsection (2) of the following:
“(2A) The same rule shall apply if there are substantial grounds for believing that if the request for extradition is granted the person claimed may be subjected to torture.”,
(c) in section 33(3), by the insertion after “or political opinion” of “or that he may be subjected to torture”,
(d) in section 44(2), by the insertion in subparagraph (ii) (inserted by section 8 of the Act of 1987) after “these reasons” of “or that he may be subjected to torture”, and
(e) in section 50(2), by the insertion in paragraph (bb) (inserted by section 9 of the Act of 1987) after “these reasons,” of “or that he may be subjected to torture,”.
8 Amendment of Criminal Procedure Act, 1967.
8.—The Criminal Procedure Act, 1967, is hereby amended—
(a) in section 13(1), by the insertion after “genocide” (inserted by section 6 of the Act of 1973) of “, an offence under the Criminal Justice (United Nations Convention against Torture) Act, 2000,”, and
(b) in section 29(1), by the insertion after paragraph (g) (inserted by section 7 of the Act of 1973) of the following:
“(h) an offence under the Criminal Justice (United Nations Convention against Torture) Act, 2000.”.
9 Amendment of Extradition (Amendment) Act, 1994.
9.—The First Schedule to the Extradition (Amendment) Act, 1994, is hereby amended by the insertion after paragraph 6 of the following:
“6A. Any offence under the Criminal Justice (United Nations Convention against Torture) Act, 2000.”.
10 Amendment of Bail Act, 1997.
10.—The Schedule to the Bail Act, 1997, is hereby amended by the insertion after paragraph 30 of the following paragraph:
“Torture
Any offence under the Criminal Justice (United Nations Convention against Torture) Act, 2000.”.
11 Privileges and immunities.
11.—(1) The Committee against Torture established under Article 17 of the Convention and a conciliation commission set up under Article 21(1)(e) of the Convention shall be accorded such privileges and immunities as are necessary for the independent exercise of their functions by the members of that Committee and such conciliation commission in the same manner and to the same extent as are experts performing missions for the United Nations under Article VI, section 22 of the Third Schedule to the Diplomatic Relations and Immunities Act, 1967.
(2) This section shall come into operation on such day as the Minister may appoint by order.
12 Expenses.
12.—The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.
13 Short title.
13.—This Act may be cited as the Criminal Justice (United Nations Convention against Torture) Act, 2000.
SCHEDULE Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The States Parties to this Convention,
Considering that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, recognition of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Recognizing that those rights derive from the inherent dignity of the human person,
Considering the obligation of States under the Charter, in particular Article 55, to promote universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Having regard to article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which provide that no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,
Having regard also to the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted by the General Assembly on 9 December 1975,
Desiring to make more effective the struggle against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment throughout the world,
Have agreed as follows:
PART I
Article 1
For the purposes of this Convention, the term “torture” means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.
This article is without prejudice to any international instrument or national legislation which does or may contain provisions of wider application.
Article 2
Each State Party shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction.
No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.
An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture.
Article 3
No State Party shall expel, return (“refouler”) or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.
For the purpose of determining whether there are such grounds, the competent authorities shall take into account all relevant considerations including, where applicable, the existence in the State concerned of a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights.
Article 4
Each State Party shall ensure that all acts of torture are offences under its criminal law. The same shall apply to an attempt to commit torture and to an act by any person which constitutes complicity or participation in torture.
Each State Party shall make these offences punishable by appropriate penalities which take into account their grave nature.
Article 5
Each State Party shall take such measures as may be necessary to establish its jurisdiction over the offences referred to in article 4 in the following cases:
(a) When the offences are committed in any territory under its jurisdiction or on board a ship or aircraft registered in that State;
(b) When the alleged offender is a national of that State;
(c) When the victim is a national of that State if that State considers it appropriate.
Each State Party shall likewise take such measures as may be necessary to establish its jurisdiction over such offences in cases where the alleged offender is present in any territory under its jurisdiction and it does not extradite him pursuant to article 8 to any of the States mentioned in paragraph 1 of this article.
This Convention does not exclude any criminal jurisdiction exercised in accordance with internal law.
Article 6
Upon being satisfied, after an examination of information available to it, that the circumstances so warrant, any State Party in whose territory a person alleged to have committed any offence referred to in article 4 is present shall take him into custody or take other legal measures to ensure his presence. The custody and other legal measures shall be as provided in the law of that State but may be continued only for such time as is necessary to enable any criminal or extradition proceedings to be instituted.
Such State shall immediately make a preliminary inquiry into the facts.
Any person in custody pursuant to paragraph 1 of this article shall be assisted in communicating immediately with the nearest appropriate representative of the State of which he is a national, or, if he is a stateless person, with the representative of the State where he usually resides.
When a State, pursuant to this article, has taken a person into custody, it shall immediately notify the States referred to in article 5, paragraph 1, of the fact that such person is in custody and of the circumstances which warrant his detention. The State which makes the preliminary inquiry contemplated in paragraph 2 of this article shall promptly report its findings to the said States and shall indicate whether it intends to exercise jurisdiction.
Article 7
The State Party in the territory under whose jurisdiction a person alleged to have committed any offence referred to in article 4 is found shall in the cases contemplated in article 5, if it does not extradite him, submit the case to its competent authorities for the purpose of prosecution.
These authorities shall take their decision in the same manner as in the case of any ordinary offence of a serious nature under the law of that State. In the cases referred to in article 5, paragraph 2, the standards of evidence required for prosecution and conviction shall in no way be less stringent than those which apply in the cases referred to in article 5, paragraph 1.
Any person regarding whom proceedings are brought in connection with any of the offences referred to in article 4 shall be guaranteed fair treatment at all stages of the proceedings.
Article 8
The offences referred to in article 4 shall be deemed to be included as extraditable offences in any extradition treaty existing between States Parties. States Parties undertake to include such offences as extraditable offences in every extradition treaty to be concluded between them.
If a State Party which makes extradition conditional on the existence of a treaty receives a request for extradition from another State Party with which it has no extradition treaty, it may consider this Convention as the legal basis for extradition in respect of such offences. Extradition shall be subject to the other conditions provided by the law of the requested State.
States Parties which do not make extradition conditional on the existence of a treaty shall recognize such offences as extraditable offences between themselves subject to the conditions provided by the law of the requested State.
Such offences shall be treated, for the purpose of extradition between States Parties, as if they had been committed not only in the place in which they occurred but also in the territories of the States required to establish their jurisdiction in accordance with article 5, paragraph 1.
Article 9
States Parties shall afford one another the greatest measure of assistance in connection with criminal proceedings brought in respect of any of the offences referred to in article 4, including the supply of all evidence at their disposal necessary for the proceedings.
This document does not substitute the official text published in the Irish Statute Book. We accept no responsibility for any inaccuracies arising from the transcription of the original into this format.