The government approved the bill on changes and amendments to the Criminal Code conditioning it with the necessity to ensure compliance with the 10 December 1984 UN Convention on “Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment” and legal regulations in the field of criminal liability for torture under the national legislation, as well as by the requirement of the execution of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.
Accordingly, in particular, it is offered to fix the following definition of torture in the Criminal Code:
“Causing a person severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain 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.”
This is due, the crime defined by the Article 119 of the Criminal Code stops being torture and the government offers to make changes in the “severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental” wording of Article 119 of the RA Criminal Code arising from the Article 1 of the Convention.
As a result, it is offered to rename the “Torture”- Article 119 of current Criminal Code by “Causing severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental” and to add article 309.1 with the headline “Torture” in the current Code with Torture Convention attributes reflecting the content.
The Government’s objection in the conventional sense the specifics of torture will be clearly separated from the actions made between private individuals: Article 309.1 will emphasize the special entity i.e. official or other person acting in an official capacity, and the special purpose of the act defining liability stricter the degree of danger of the offense.
