RECOMMENDATION
40(b) Ensure that courts dismiss in practice all cases in which evidence was obtained as a result of coerced confessions; investigate and prosecute all such allegations of torture and ill-treatment; and provide redress to victims;
| Recommendation No: | CAT-40(b) |
|---|---|
| Recommendation Year: | 2019 |
| Recommendation Text: | 40(b) Ensure that courts dismiss in practice all cases in which evidence was obtained as a result of coerced confessions; investigate and prosecute all such allegations of torture and ill-treatment; and provide redress to victims; |
| Convention/Treaty Body: | Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment |
| Information Deadline: | |
| Implementation Deadline: |
Related Human Rights Articles
CAT Article 15 - CAT Article 15
Each State Party shall ensure that any statement which is established to have been made as a result of torture shall not be invoked as evidence in any proceedings, except against a person accused of torture as evidence that the statement was made.
Stakeholders
Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM)
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Attorney General's Office (AGO)
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Supreme Court of the Maldives (SC)
Relevant Articles of the Constitution
52 - No confession shall be admissible in evidence unless made in court by an accused who is in a sound state of mind. No statement or evidence must be obtained from any source by compulsion or by unlawful means and such statement or evidence is inadmissible in evidence.
Relevant Legislation Articles
5 - 5. (a) A statement submitted to a Maldivian court, or a statement of confession to a crime, or an admission to an action that was obtained by means of torture, the statement, confession or admission will be, as stated in Article 52 of the Constitution of Republic of Maldives, deemed evidence obtained contrary to laws and regulations.The evidence shall not be used against the accused at any judicial proceeding or process of court.
5. (b) Not withstanding (a) of this article, if a person gives a statement at a judicial proceeding that that he has been tortured by a state official or someone acting on behalf of a state official in any capacity,any statements or confessions which were obtained from the victim illegally, such confessions or statements can be submitted to the court as evidence. In such circumstances, it can be accepted as evidence in the judicial process.
Article 48 - .
Relevant Regulations & Policies
No Relevant Regulations & Policies
Relevant Articles of other Human Rights Conventions
ICCPR Article 14 - The right to equality before the law; the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty and to have a fair and public hearing.
ICCPR Article 15 - No one can be held for an offence that was not a crime at the time it was committed.
ICCPR Article 16 - The right to be recognised as a person before the law.
CEDAW Article 15 - Article 15
1. States Parties shall accord to women equality with men before the law.
2. States Parties shall accord to women, in civil matters, a legal capacity identical to that of men and the same opportunities to exercise that capacity. In particular, they shall give women equal rights to conclude contracts and to administer property and shall treat them equally in all stages of procedure in courts and tribunals.
3. States Parties agree that all contracts and all other private instruments of any kind with a legal effect which is directed at restricting the legal capacity of women shall be deemed null and void.
4. States Parties shall accord to men and women the same rights with regard to the law relating to the movement of persons and the freedom to choose their residence and domicile.
CRC Article 12 - 1. States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.
2. For this purpose, the child shall in particular be provided the opportunity to be heard in any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting the child, either directly, or through a representative or an appropriate body, in a manner consistent with the procedural rules of national law.
CRC Article 37 - States Parties shall ensure that:
(a) No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment without possibility of release shall be imposed for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age;
(b) No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time;
(c) Every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and in a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of his or her age. In particular, every child deprived of liberty shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in the child's best interest not to do so and shall have the right to maintain contact with his or her family through correspondence and visits, save in exceptional circumstances;
(d) Every child deprived of his or her liberty shall have the right to prompt access to legal and other appropriate assistance, as well as the right to challenge the legality of the deprivation of his or her liberty before a court or other competent, independent and impartial authority, and to a prompt decision on any such action.
CRC Article 40 - 1. States Parties recognize the right of every child alleged as, accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law to be treated in a manner consistent with the promotion of the child's sense of dignity and worth, which reinforces the child's respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of others and which takes into account the child's age and the desirability of promoting the child's reintegration and the child's assuming a constructive role in society.
2. To this end, and having regard to the relevant provisions of international instruments, States Parties shall, in particular, ensure that:
(a) No child shall be alleged as, be accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law by reason of acts or omissions that were not prohibited by national or international law at the time they were committed;
(b) Every child alleged as or accused of having infringed the penal law has at least the following guarantees:
(i) To be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law;
(ii) To be informed promptly and directly of the charges against him or her, and, if appropriate, through his or her parents or legal guardians, and to have legal or other appropriate assistance in the preparation and presentation of his or her defence;
(iii) To have the matter determined without delay by a competent, independent and impartial authority or judicial body in a fair hearing according to law, in the presence of legal or other appropriate assistance and, unless it is considered not to be in the best interest of the child, in particular, taking into account his or her age or situation, his or her parents or legal guardians;
(iv) Not to be compelled to give testimony or to confess guilt; to examine or have examined adverse witnesses and to obtain the participation and examination of witnesses on his or her behalf under conditions of equality;
(v) If considered to have infringed the penal law, to have this decision and any measures imposed in consequence thereof reviewed by a higher competent, independent and impartial authority or judicial body according to law;
(vi) To have the free assistance of an interpreter if the child cannot understand or speak the language used;
(vii) To have his or her privacy fully respected at all stages of the proceedings.
3. States Parties shall seek to promote the establishment of laws, procedures, authorities and institutions specifically applicable to children alleged as, accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law, and, in particular:
(a) The establishment of a minimum age below which children shall be presumed not to have the capacity to infringe the penal law;
(b) Whenever appropriate and desirable, measures for dealing with such children without resorting to judicial proceedings, providing that human rights and legal safeguards are fully respected. 4. A variety of dispositions, such as care, guidance and supervision orders; counselling; probation; foster care; education and vocational training programmes and other alternatives to institutional care shall be available to ensure that children are dealt with in a manner appropriate to their well-being and proportionate both to their circumstances and the offence.
CRPD Article 5 - Equality and non-discrimination
CRPD Article 12 - Equal recognition before the law
CRPD Article 13 - Access to justice
CRPD Article 14 - Liberty and security of person
ICERD Article 5 - Non-discrimination; equality before
the law; general policy
Related Recommendations of other Treaty Bodies
No Related Recommendations of other Treaty Bodies
Related SDGs
No Related SDGs
Categories
No Categories