PROHIBITION OF TORTURE AND JURISPRUDENCE OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Abstract

Signed in Rome in 1950 under the auspices of the Council of Europe (CoE), the European
Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (the Convention) is the first
international instrument by which sovereign states have agreed to be legally obliged to
provide a relatively broad corpus to everyone within their jurisdiction of human rights and
fundamental freedoms. The Convention established a system of human rights protection with
the effectiveness of which no other universal or regional system can be compared. The
effectiveness of this system is based on the fact that the judgments of the European Court of
Human Rights (ECHR/Court) as supranational instances have the force of an enforceable
title, which is why they are fully implemented by states. The cooperation of states is the result
of the realization that resistance to the Court's decisions would challenge human dignity,
personal freedoms and the rule of law as fundamental values of European civilization.
Judgments of the ECHR often go beyond the cases in which they were rendered, having an
impact in the field of creation and application of law in the contracting states. Many CoE
member states, respecting the Court's interpretations, have reformed their legislation and
made it compatible with the Convention. At the same time, the process of harmonizing the
practice of state bodies with the requirements of the Court is taking place, which it is
constantly improving and perfecting. Accordingly, the paper analyzes in detail the Court's
jurisprudence on violations of Article 3 of the Convention, which guarantees the prohibition
of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment. This makes it possible to see the
practical reach of the Convention and the Court in preventing and combating this global
problem, which poses a serious danger to the achievements of civilized humanity.