VI. CONSIDERATION OF COMPLAINTS UNDER
ARTICLE 22 OF THE CONVENTION
A. Introduction
55.
Under article 22 of the Convention, individuals who claim to be victims of a violation by
a State party of the provisions of the Convention may submit a complaint to the Committee
against Torture for consideration, subject to the conditions laid down in that article. Fifty-eight
out of 141 States that have acceded to or ratified the Convention have declared that they
recognize the competence of the Committee to receive and consider complaints under article 22
of the Convention. The list of those States is contained in annex III. No complaint may be
considered by the Committee if it concerns a State party to the Convention that has not
recognized the Committee’s competence under article 22.
56.
Consideration of complaints under article 22 of the Convention takes place in closed
meetings (art. 22, para. 6). All documents pertaining to the work of the Committee under
article 22, i.e. submissions from the parties and other working documents of the Committee, are
confidential. Rules 107 and 109 of the Committee’s Rules of Procedure set out the complaints
procedure in detail.
57.
The Committee decides on a complaint in the light of all information made available to it
by the complainant and the State party. The findings of the Committee are communicated to the
parties (article 22, paragraph 7, of the Convention and rule 112 of the rules of procedure) and are
made available to the general public. The text of the Committee’s decisions declaring
complaints inadmissible under article 22 of the Convention is also made public without
disclosing the identity of the complainant, but identifying the State party concerned.
58.
Pursuant to rule 115, paragraph 1, of its rules of procedure, the Committee may decide to
include in its annual report a summary of the communications examined. The Committee shall
also include in its annual report the text of its decisions under article 22, paragraph 7, of the
Convention.
B. Interim measures of protection
59.
Complainants frequently request preventive protection, particularly in cases concerning
imminent expulsion or extradition, and invoke in this connection article 3 of the Convention.
Pursuant to rule 108, paragraph 1, at any time after the receipt of a complaint, the Committee, its
working group, or the Rapporteur for new complaints and interim measures may transmit to the
State party concerned a request that it take such interim measures as the Committee considers
necessary to avoid irreparable damage to the victim or victims of the alleged violations. The
State party shall be informed that such a request does not imply a determination of the
admissibility or the merits of the complaint. The Rapporteur for new complaints and interim
measures regularly monitors compliance with the Committee’s requests for interim measures.
60.
The Rapporteur for new complaints and interim measures has developed the working
methods regarding the withdrawal of requests for interim measures. Where the circumstances
suggest that a request for interim measures may be reviewed before the consideration of the
merits, a standard sentence is added to the request, stating that the request is made on the basis of
the information contained in the complainant’s submission and may be reviewed, at the initiative
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