investigation or settlement. Some State parties have made reservations to exclude the competence of the Committee not only in relation to cases being examined but also to cases that have been examined and decided by another international mechanism. The Committee considers that the Human Rights Council’s complaint procedure, special rapporteurs or working groups do not constitute such a mechanism. Accordingly, a complaint to the Human Rights Committee will not be declared inadmissible if it has also been submitted to one of these mechanisms of the Human Rights Council. As to what constitutes “the same matter”, the Committee understands it as relating to the same author, the same facts and the same substantive rights. Facts that have been submitted to another international mechanism can be brought before the Committee if the Covenant provides for broader protection. Furthermore, complaints dismissed by other international mechanisms on procedural grounds are not considered to have been substantively examined; the same facts may therefore be brought before the Committee. The Human Rights Committee has developed some exceptions to the rule that it cannot examine facts that occurred before the entry into force of the Optional Protocol for the State party concerned. Thus, the Committee will examine a complaint regarding facts that occurred before the date of entry into force if, subsequent to that date, there has been a court decision or some other State act validating those facts. B. Procedure under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment was adopted on 10 December 1984. It prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and, among other obligations, requires States parties not to return persons to countries where there are substantial grounds for believing they would face torture. It also imposes a series of measures aimed at ensuring that acts of torture, wherever they are committed, are appropriately investigated and prosecuted. The substantive obligations are set out in Part I of the Convention (arts. 1–16) and the complaint mechanism is established by article 22. State parties may make a declaration under that article, recognizing the competence of the Committee against Torture—a panel of 10 independent experts that meets twice a year—to consider complaints from individuals alleging violations of their rights under the Convention.15 15 For more information on the Committee against Torture, see OHCHR Fact Sheet No. 17 or the Committee’s web page: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/index.htm (accessed 28 March 2013). 14