Article 13
Each State Party shall ensure that any individual who alleges he has
been subjected to torture in any territory under its jurisdiction has the
right to complain to, and to have his case promptly and impartially
examined by, its competent authorities. Steps shall be taken to ensure
that the complainant and witnesses are protected against all illtreatment or intimidation as a consequence of his complaint or any
evidence given.
The development of an underlying set of principles which informed
approaches to police oversight derived from the requirements and obligations
set out in;
x UNCAT;
x ECHR;
x judgements of the Court over a period of several years; and,
x statements and interpretations laid out by the European Committee for
the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment (CPT);
The Court developed five key principles for the effective investigation of
complaints against the police that engage Article 2 or 3 ECHR:
x Independence; no institutional or hierarchical connections between the
investigators and the officer subject of the complaint, amounting to a
real, practical independence3;
x adequacy; the investigation should be capable of gathering evidence to
determine whether police behaviour complained of was unlawful and
to identify and punish those responsible4;
x promptness; the investigation should be conducted promptly and
expeditiously in order to maintain confidence in the rule of law 5;
x public scrutiny; procedures and decision-making should be open and
transparent in order to ensure accountability; and,
x victim involvement; the complainant should be involved in the
complaints process in order to safeguard his or her legitimate interests.
Giving effect to the obligations set out in the ECHR and UNCAT required the
Court to further define the obligations placed on States to carry out effective
investigations in pursuit of the ‘adequacy’ principle. For example, separating
compensation and damages for violations of Article 3 from effective criminal
3
Halat v. Turkey, (23607/08) – judgement of 8 November 2011 and Mocanu and others v Romania (10865/09,
45886/07 and 32431/08) – judgement of 17 September 2014
4
Aksoy v Turkey (Application no. 21987/93) – judgement of 18 December 1996; Alder v United Kingdom (42078/02) judgement of 22 November 2011
5
Aydin v. Turkey (57/1996/676/866) – judgement of 25 September 1997
5