Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of effecting political re-education and coercion.
National and international legal prohibitions on torture derive from a consensus that torture and ill-treatment are immoral, as well as being impractical. Despite these international conventions, however, many organizations (e.g. Amnesty International) that monitor abuses of human rights report a widespread use of torture condoned by states in many regions of the world.
In Europe, several initiatives have been undertaken to prohibit and fight torture.
The European Torture Law Review discusses these instruments and also keeps track of any case law emerging considering this area of law. Subjects and treaties that are discussed include the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and its protocols and case law of the ECHR.
For legal academics who work in the field of laws of torture and their implementation, our law review is a very valuable research tool.