Introduction When a State accedes to or ratifies the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Convention or the UNCAT) it agrees to fight impunity by making torture a crime and investigating and prosecuting allegations of torture; to provide redress to victims, to exclude statements acquired through torture from all proceedings, and to take legislative and other measures to prevent torture, among other things. One part of implementing the Convention against Torture at the national level is analysing the body of existing domestic laws to determine whether the State already meets its obligations in terms of legislative frameworks, and then, as necessary, amending existing laws or drafting entirely new laws. The United Nations Committee against Torture (the Committee or the CAT), as the body assigned responsibility under the treaty for monitoring implementation of the Convention by States parties, regularly recommends to States reporting to it to enact legislation, including, in particular, legislation that makes torture a crime in accordance with articles 1 and 4 of the Convention. The Committee has also referred to the need to enact implementing legislation in its General Comments. While there is continued focus at the United Nations’ level on the importance of enacting legislation that implements the Convention against Torture, there are few practical tools and examples of good practices that are easily accessible for national level actors to consult. In order to bridge this information gap and support adoption of anti-torture legislation that implements the Convention against Torture at the national level, the Convention against Torture Initiative (CTI) commissioned the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) to draft this guide on anti-torture legislation. In a practical format, this document is primarily intended to assist lawmakers in drafting specific anti-torture legislation or in revising existing domestic laws, such as criminal codes, laws on reparations for criminal acts or on civil procedures, etc. It is hoped that this guide will assist States to give effect to their obligations under the Convention. It might be also useful for actors from civil society or international and regional organizations advocating for the adoption of a legal framework on torture at the national level. The guide also promotes existing good practices by providing examples of national legislation drawn from different regions and in different languages. How to use this guide? With a view to identifying the elements of national legislation that provide the most relevant and meaningful protection, the guide uses State obligations under the Convention as a starting point. Therefore, State parties to the UNCAT are the primary targets of the guide to assist them to fulfil their conventional obligations. As a multilateral treaty with the object and purpose of eradicating torture and combatting impunity, the Convention is indeed a primary and compelling source for norms to combat torture. The Committee against Torture has a special role 9