or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions. The OPCAT, the main requirement of which is to establish a system of regular visits undertaken by independent international and national bodies to places of detention2 in order to prevent torture, as an innovative treaty, embracing international and national efforts to prevent torture and emphasizing the importance of a constructive dialogue, specifies that not a reactive approach – an approach based on reaction, but a preventive approach – an approach aimed at preventing shall be applied to the regulated relations. In other words, the Protocol envisages no new rights or restoration of infringed rights but the prevention of the violation of the right not to be subjected to torture. In accordance with the OPCAT, at the international level the Subcommittee on Prevention and at the national level national preventive mechanisms are set up. The Subcommittee established at the international level being a subcommittee of the UN Committee against Torture, is a new generation treaty body. As already mentioned, the aforesaid document, being an effective tool for combating torture, sets out the requirement to establish or designate a national preventive mechanism for the prevention of torture. Thus, in accordance with Article 17 of the OPCAT, each State Party shall maintain, designate or establish, at the latest one year after the entry into force of the Protocol or of its ratification or accession, one or several independent national preventive mechanisms for the prevention of torture at the domestic level. The Republic of Azerbaijan signed the OPCAT on 15 September 2005 and ratified it by Law No.724-IIIQ of 02 December 2008. The OPCAT entered into force in respect of the Republic of Azerbaijan from the date the law concerned was promulgated, i.e. 15 January 2009. On the same day Order No.112 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Ensuring the 2 According to Article 4.2 of the OPCAT, for the purposes of the OPCAT, deprivation of liberty means any form of detention or imprisonment or the placement of a person in a public or private custodial setting which that person is not permitted to leave at will by order of any judicial, administrative or other authority. 11