European Court of Human Rights - Gäfgen v. Germany - Application no. 22978/05

giurisprudenza e prassi internazionale - international case-law and practice

Data – Date :

01/06/2010

Note – Notes:

Ruling:

For these reasons, the Court, unanimously, […] Holds by eleven votes to six that there has been a violation of Article 3 of the Convention;

Reference to obligations of criminalization:

Paragraph 117. As regards the requirement of a thorough and effective investigation, the Court reiterates that where an individual raises an arguable claim that he has been seriously ill-treated by the police or other such agents of the State unlawfully and in breach of Article 3, that provision, read in conjunction with the State’s general duty under Article 1 of the Convention to “secure to everyone within their jurisdiction the rights and freedoms defined in … [the] Convention”, requires by implication that there should be an effective official investigation. Such an investigation, as with one under Article 2, should be capable of leading to the identification and punishment of those responsible (see, inter alia, Assenov and Others, cited above, § 102; Labita, cited above, § 131; Çamdereli, cited above, §§ 36-37; and Vladimir Romanov, cited above, § 81). For an investigation to be effective in practice it is a prerequisite that the State has enacted criminal-law provisions penalising practices that are contrary to Article 3 (compare, mutatis mutandis, M.C. v. Bulgaria, no. 39272/98, §§ 150, 153 and 166, ECHR 2003-XII; Nikolova and Velichkova, cited above, § 57; and Çamdereli, cited above, § 38).

Reference to human dignity:

Several references to human dignity (paras 40, 48, 56-57, 120, 145). However, all of these reflect the reasoning of Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court rather than that of the ECHR.

Norme penali italiane rilevanti – Relevant italian rules:

art. 3 ECHR

Parole chiave – Keywords:

Corte Europea dei Diritti Umani - European Court Of Human Rights, Giurisdizione - Jurisdiction, Tortura - Torture, Trattato - Treaty