Domestic courts and the promotion and protection of the right to freedom from torture in Southern African development community countries

Abstract

The right to freedom from torture is protected not only in the constitutions of all SADC countries but also in some of the regional and international human rights instruments that have been signed, ratified or acceded to by these countries. This article has discussed the measures taken by courts in different SADC countries to protect the right to freedom from torture. The author has focused on the following issues and made recommendations where appropriate: the definition of torture, the difference between torture on the one hand and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment on the other hand, the status of the right to freedom from torture in the eyes of the courts, the factors that courts consider as creating a conducive environment for torture, the issue of deporting or extraditing a person to a country where he or she could be subjected to torture, proving allegations of torture, some forms of punishment that have been declared as torture, and the admissibility of evidence obtained through torture.