OSCE/ODIHR Opinion on Article 235 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan duty” which seems to be applicable to all offences, including torture and ill-treatment. The same applies to Article 64 of the Criminal Code on statutes of limitations. 36. To combat torture, a number of states have decided to include a specific clause in the related article or section on torture in their criminal codes expressly precluding the application of general criminal law provisions relating to defences (including defence of superior order or necessity), amnesties and pardons, as well as statutes of limitations.48 It is recommended to similarly amend Article 235 of the Criminal Code to expressly exclude the application of the general provisions of the Criminal Code pertaining to defences, amnesties and pardons, as well as statutes of limitations, in cases of torture.49 3.2. Appropriate Sanctions 37. Article 235 of the Criminal Code provides for a sentence of “correctional work for a period up to three years or imprisonment for a period up to three years” which may be increased to higher penalties of five or eight years when certain aggravating factors are present. 38. Article 4 par 2 of the UNCAT states that offences of torture shall be punishable by appropriate penalties which take into account the grave nature of these crimes. A system of sentencing is not simply a method of imposing penalties upon an offender to prevent harmful conduct, but also reflects a set of values shared by a country, as expressed in the Criminal Code, of what constitutes intolerable behavior. Although international standards do not prescribe specific levels of sanctions, the UNCAT Committee noted the need to establish “appropriate sanctions” given the special gravity of the crime of torture.50 In one case in particular, the UNCAT Committee considered that the respective State had been in breach of Article 4 of the UNCAT for imposing a light penalty (i.e. reducing the sentence from four years of imprisonment to one year) and had also violated Article 2 of the UNCAT for having pardoned the perpetrator51, which, according to the Committee, had the effect of allowing torture to go unpunished and encouraging its repetition. Recently, the UNCAT Committee has considered that the deprivation of liberty for a term of six to nine years was likewise not commensurate with the gravity of the criminal offence of torture.52 A light sentence such as a few months of suspension from work has also been generally recognized as contravening Article 4 of the UNCAT.53 It is likely that correctional work as provided by Article 235 of the Criminal Code would similarly be considered not to be commensurate with the 48 49 50 51 52 53 Op. cit. footnote 14, pages 42-47 (2013 APT Report on Key Issues in Drafting Anti-Torture Legislation), with state examples. Including for instance Article 55 on Mitigating Circumstances, Article 57 on Mitigation of Penalty, Article 37 on Necessary Defense, Article 38 on Extreme Necessity, Article 40 on Execution of Order or Another Duty, Article 64 on Discharge from Criminal Liability due to Expired Term of Liability, Article 661 on Discharge from Criminal Liability due to Conciliation, Article 68 on Discharge from Criminal Liability due to Act of Amnesty, Article 72 on Conditional Conviction and Article 76 on Discharge from Penalty due to Act of Amnesty or Pardon. Op. cit. footnote 12, par 11 (General Comment No. 2 of the UNCAT Committee). See also page 19 of the Guide to Jurisprudence on Torture in International Law jointly published in 2008 by the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) and the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), available at http://www.apt.ch/content/files_res/jurisprudenceguide.pdf. See par 6.7 Urra Guridi v. Spain, UNCAT Communication No. 212/2002, U.N. Doc. CAT/C/34/D/212/2002, 17 May 2005, available at http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/cat/decisions/212-2002.html. See e.g. par 7 of the Concluding Observations of the UNCAT Committee on Andorra, CAT/C/AND/CO/1, 20 December 2013, available at http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CAT%2fC%2fAND%2fCO%2f1&La ng=en. Op. cit. footnote 14, page 40 (2013 APT Report on Key Issues in Drafting Anti-Torture Legislation). 13