The Treatment of Prisoners Under International Law
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This is the third edition of the
pioneering work that has become the standard text in the field. The first
edition was one of the earliest to establish that the newly developing
international law of human rights could be set down as any other branch of
international law. It also incorporates the complementary fields of
international humanitarian law and international criminal law, while addressing
the problems associated with their interaction with human rights law. The book
is more than a descriptive analysis of the field. It acknowledges areas of
unclarity or where developments may be embryonic. Solutions are offered. Recent
developments have confirmed the value of solutions proposed in the previous
editions. Central to most of the chapters is the prohibition of torture and
cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. The early chapters focus
on the period of first detention, when detainees are most at risk of having
information or confessions, however unreliable, extracted by unlawful means.
Voices contemplating the legitimacy of such treatment to combat terrorism have
been heard in the wake of the atrocities of 11 September 2001. The book finds
that the evidence clearly suggests that the absolute prohibition of such
treatment remains firm. Other chapters deal with problems of poor prison
conditions and of certain extraordinary penalties, notably corporal and capital
punishment. A chapter explores ethical codes for members of professions capable
of inflicting or preventing the prohibited behaviour (police and medical and
legal professionals). Chapters are also devoted to the extreme practice of
enforced disappearance and the contribution of the new convention on this
phenomenon, as well as to extra-legal executions.
