CAT/C/36/D/181/2001
page 5
measures to be taken by Senegal” and “article 669 of the Code of Criminal Procedure [which
enumerates the cases in which proceedings can be brought against foreigners in Senegal for acts
committed abroad] has not been amended”. They also note that, while the State party has
adopted legislation to include the crime of torture in its Criminal Code in accordance with
article 4 of the Convention, it has not adopted any legislation relating to article 5, paragraph 2,
despite the fact that this provision is the “cornerstone” of the Convention, referring in this
connection to the travaux préparatoires.
3.3
Moreover, the complainants point out, whereas the Court of Cassation states that
“the presence in Senegal of Hissène Habré cannot in itself justify the proceedings”, it is precisely
the presence of the offender in Senegalese territory, that constitutes the basis under article 5 of
the Convention for establishing the jurisdiction of the country concerned.
3.4
The complainants consider that the ruling of the Court of Cassation is contrary to the
main purpose of the Convention and to the assurance given by the State party to the Committee
against Torture, that no internal legal provision in any way hinders the prosecution of torture
offences committed abroad.3
3.5
The complainants note that, irrespective of article 79 of the Constitution, under which the
Convention is directly an integral part of internal Senegalese legislation, it was incumbent on the
authorities of the State party to take any additional legislative measures necessary to prevent all
ambiguities such as those pointed out by the Court of Cassation.
3.6
The complainants observe that members of the Committee regularly emphasize the need
for States parties to take appropriate legislative measures to establish universal jurisdiction in
cases of torture. During its consideration of the second periodic report submitted by the State
party under article 19 of the Convention, the Committee underlined the importance of article 79
of the Senegalese Constitution, stressing that it should be implemented unreservedly.4 The State
party had, moreover, expressly affirmed in its final statement that it “intended to honour its
commitments, in the light of the Committee’s conclusions and in view of the primacy of
international law over internal law”.5
3.7
The complainants therefore consider that the State party’s failure to make its
legislation comply with article 5, paragraph 2, of the Convention constitutes a violation of
this provision.
Violation of article 7 of the Convention
3.8
On the basis of several concordant opinions expressed by members of the British House
of Lords in the Pinochet case, the complainants argue that the essential aim of the Convention is
to ensure that no one suspected of torture can evade justice simply by moving to another country
and that article 7 is precisely the expression of the principle aut dedere aut punire, which not
only allows but obliges any State party to the Convention to declare it has jurisdiction over
torture, wherever committed. Similarly, the complainants refer to Cherif Bassiouni and
Edward Wise, who maintain that article 7 expresses the principle aut dedere aut judicare.6 They
also cite a legal opinion according to which “the Convention’s main jurisdictional feature is thus
that it does not impose a solely legislative and territorial obligation, in the manner of previous