2. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment or treatment. All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.” The IACPPT does not name the Inter-American Court as the organ with power to oversee its application, but rather provides for a State reporting system to the Commission.442 Nonetheless, in Paniagua Morales and Others v Guatemala, the Court found a violation of the IACPPT, without elaborating on the source of its jurisdiction to do so.443 In the later case Villagrán Morales and Others v Guatemala, the Court explicitly extended its own jurisdiction to include supervision of the IACPPT, stating that this was possible where a State has given its consent to be bound by the IACPPT, and has accepted the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights as regards the ACHR.444 The IACPPT also forms part of Inter-American body of law, and aids the Court in fixing the content and reach of the prohibition on torture and ill-treatment contained in Article 5(2) of the American Convention.445 3 The Inter-american Regional System The American Convention does not define the types of conduct which constitute torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,441 nor does it differentiate between the prohibited acts. To understand the concept of torture in the Inter-American system, it is necessary to resort to other instruments, notably the IACPPT, and the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court and Commission. 3.1.1 Torture Article 2(1) of the IACPPT defines torture as: “any act intentionally performed whereby physical or mental pain or suffering is inflicted on a person for purposes of criminal investigation, as a means of intimidation, as personal punishment, as a preventive measure, as a penalty, or for any other purpose. Torture shall also be understood to be the use of methods upon a person intended to obliterate the personality of the victim or For the purposes of this chapter, “treatment” should be read so as to include “punishment.” Article 17 IACPPT. Paniagua Morales and Others v Guatemala (“Panel Blanca”), IACHR (Series C) No. 37, judgement of 8 March 1998, §§133–36. 444 Villagrán Morales and Others v Guatemala (“Street Children”), IACHR, (Series C) No. 63, judgement of 19 November 1999, §247. 445 Tibi v Ecuador, IACHR (Series C) No. 114, judgement of 7 September 2004, §145. See also La Cantuta v Peru, IACHR (Series C) No. 162, judgement of 29 November 2006, and the interpretation of this judgement of 30 November 2007. 441 442 443 95