01185931
002/19-09-2007-ECCC/SC
Doc No. F26/12
failing to kill LON Nol officers, or further evidence that killing LON Nol officers was within
the enemy's policy of the regime. 164 In other words, they argue that the exception stipulated
in the second sentence of Article 15 of the CAT, which permits use of statements derived
from torture "as evidence that the statement was made", implies that such statements may be
used for any purpose other than to prove the truth of its contents. 165 The Co-Prosecutors add
that the exclusionary rule only serves its deterrent purpose where the party seeking to use the
torture-derived statement is part of the perpetrator's regime, and that preventing a court or
prosecutors from using such statements for purposes unrelated to the truth of their contents
would have the unreasonable and unintended effect of rewarding torturers by shielding them
from liability. 166
67.
The Supreme Court Chamber recalls that Case 002/01 does not involve charges of
torture. Accordingly, the sole exception in Article 15 of the CAT permitting use of a
statement derived from torture "against a person accused of torture as evidence that the
statement was made" does not apply. Transferring their arguments raised in Case 002/02 to
the present case, the Co-Prosecutors essentially argue the doctrine of necessity - notably, the
exigencies of effective prosecution - in order to broaden the use of statements obtained
through torture beyond the plain language of Article 15 of the CAT. For the reasons indicated
above at paragraphs at 40-47, the exclusionary rule does not lend itself to accommodating the
Co-Prosecutors' interpretation. The object and purpose of Article 15 of the CAT requires
broad exclusion of any information obtained through torture, and the exception to this rule,
by its nature, is to be interpreted narrowly. Specifically, the Supreme Court Chamber concurs
with the jurisprudence cited above,167 which holds that necessities of prosecution do not
justify the use of statements obtained through torture, even where the party moving to use the
statements is not responsible for the torture.
68.
In accordance with the notion of "statements" as interpreted above, Article 15 of the
CAT excludes the admission of any information resulting from the torture of the victim, no
matter whether adduced directly, through a witness, or in recorded form. Article 15 of the
CAT does not, however, mandate the sweeping exclusion of the whole documentation
surrounding the interrogation of the torture victim. When an interrogation record contains
information originating from persons other than the torture victim, for instance from the
164
165
166
167
Co-Prosecutors' Objections, para. 5.
Co-Prosecutors' Case 002/02 Submissions, para. 7.
Co-Prosecutors' Case 002/02 Submissions, para. 6.
Supra paras 42-46.
DECISION ON OBJECTIONS TO DOCUMENT LISTS - FULL REASONS
36/40
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents