ODIHR Opinion on Definition of Torture and its Absolute Prohibition in Polish Legislation or Degrading Treatment or Punishment provides that “any statement which is established to have been made as a result of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment may not be invoked as evidence … in any proceedings.” 48. The CAT’s concluding observations reiterate the exclusionary rule, recommending the States to “take the steps necessary to ensure that, in practice, confessions obtained under torture or duress are not admitted in court proceedings in line with relevant domestic legislation and Article 15 of the Convention.” It further recommends that the State “should ensure that the law governing evidence adduced in judicial proceedings is brought into line with article 15 of the Convention so as to explicitly exclude any confessions obtained under torture.34 49. The Special Rapporteur on Torture further opined that “[t]he exclusionary rule is fundamental for upholding the prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment by providing a disincentive to use such acts. The rule forms a part of the general and absolute prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment.” The report further noted that the State shall “go beyond the literal remit of article 15 of the Convention and provide procedures in domestic legislation for the exclusion of any and all evidence obtained in violation of safeguards designed to protect against torture and other ill-treatment.” 35 50. In Polish legislation, the exclusionary rule is not defined in cases of torture and other illtreatment. For example, Article 170 of the Criminal Procedure Code notes on a number of conditions when evidentiary motion shall be denied, however this scope does not extend to the acts of torture and other ill-treatment. 51. It is recommended that relevant legislation includes provisions that explicitly prohibit the use of evidence obtained through torture and, in line with the exclusionary rule, declare any evidence or extrajudicial statement obtained under torture or other illtreatment inadmissible. This could also be supplemented in Article 170 of the Criminal Procedure Code which lists the conditions when evidence is inadmissible. [END OF TEXT] 34 35 See the annual Reports of the Committee against Torture from 2012 and 2014. See also the CAT Concluding Observation report on Finland, 20 January 2017 where the CAT welcomed amendments “explicitly prohibiting the use of evidence obtained through torture in judicial proceedings, while noting that recent changes in legislation and practice may have reduced legal safeguards for asylum seekers and increased the risk of refoulement.” See paragraphs 63 and 69 of the Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, 10 April 2014. 14