1. F reedom from torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment The prohibition of torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is absolute and unconditional. It is enshrined in Article 40 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 2 April 1997, according to which no one shall be subjected to torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The application of corporal punishment shall be prohibited. It is also provided for in key documents of international law, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948248, the Geneva Conventions of 1949249, the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950250, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966251, the American Convention on Human Rights of 1969252, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights of 1981253, and the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture of 1985.254 In the European system of protection of human rights, the issue of freedom from torture and other inhuman treatment is regulated, in particular, by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms which was signed by Poland in 1991 and entered into Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment punishment. 249 Article 3: (…) To this end, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons: a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture; b) taking of hostages; c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment; (…). 250 Article 3: No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 251 Article 7: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation. 252 Article 5(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. 253 Article 5: Every individual shall have the right to the respect of the dignity inherent in a human being and to the recognition of his legal status. All forms of exploitation and degradation of man, particularly slavery, slave trade, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment shall be prohibited. 254 Article 1: The State Parties undertake to prevent and punish torture in accordance with the terms of this Convention. 248 88