&
66. With regard to specific articles of the Convention, members of the
Committee asked whether, in the absence of an explicit legislative definition
of torture and bearing in mind the requirement in article 4 of the Convention
that acts of torture had to be made specific offences under criminal law if
they were to be punishable, the provisions of the Penal Code covered all the
situations of torture referred to in article 1 of the Convention.
67. With regard to article 2 of the Convention, members of the Committee
pointed to the incompatibility of article 214 of the Penal Code, concerning
the exemption from criminal liability of a subor.dinate for illegal acts under
certain circumstances, with article 2, paragraph 3, of the Convention. Noting
that the Supreme Court had issued an opinion in favour of amending
article 214, they wished to know what steps were being taken by the Government
or the National Congress to do so.
In relation to article 3 of the Convention, members wished to know how
that article was given effect in Ecuadorian legislation and whether there had
been any actual cases in which refQulement, expulsion or extradition had been
refused on the grounds that the person concerned was in danger of being
sUbjected to torture in his own country.
68.
69. With regard to article 4, information was sought as to the number of
cases of persons convicted of torture, the penalties they had been given,
whether any members of the SIC had been prosecuted or were currently facing
charges, and whether it was necessary to try members of the police and the
armed forces by special courts also in the case of offences of torture.
Concerning article 5 of the Convention, members of the Committee sought
further clarification as to the application of its provisions, including
details of any offences committed abroad where both the perpetrator and the
victim had been foreigners.
70.
With regard to article 6 of the Convention, it was stated that from the
information provided it appeared that the legislation of Ecuador did not fully
comply with the article's requirements.
71.
72. Concerning article 9 of the Convention, it was noted tht Contracting
States to the Bustamante Code of Private International Law had an option to
agree or accept certain forms of communication on criminal matters whereas,
under the Convention, States parties were obliged to assist one another in
connection with criminal proceedings.
73. With respect to article 10 of the Convention, members of the Committee
noted that the various educational measures regarding the prohibition against
torture did not seem to apply to medical personnel and suggested that the
number of training and education programmes should be increased. They
recalled, in this regard, that assistance could be sought from the Centre for
Human Rights for that purpose.
In connection with article 11, further details were requested as to the
rules governing interrogations, in particular those relating to access of the
arrested person to a physician and a lawyer, and detention in solitary
confinement. It was also asked how the right of a person held incommunicado
to communicate with his lawyer, provided for in article 130, paragraph 2, of
74.
-16Digitized by Dag Hammarskjöld Library
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