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SUMMARY:Deportation and Promises not to Torture: The European Convention o
 n Human Rights and Diplomatic Assurances - Darragh Coffey\, Darwin College
DTSTART:20161115T130000Z
DTEND:20161115T140000Z
UID:TALK68415@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Julius Weitzdörfer
DESCRIPTION:Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights states 'n
 o one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment o
 r punishment. The European Court of Human Rights has interpreted this as p
 reventing contracting states from sending individuals to places where ther
 e is a risk of such ill-treatment. This interpretation has created difficu
 lties for contracting states. This is because some of these states commonl
 y use deportation to remove individuals who pose a threat to national secu
 rity. In response to this\, some ECHR states have begun to seek diplomatic
  assurances from receiving states. In essence these diplomatic assurances 
 are political promises. The receiving state promises that the deported per
 son will not be ill-treated after deportation. Interestingly\, the states 
 that provide these assurances are often already signed up to international
  agreements that prohibit ill-treatment. For example\, the Convention Agai
 nst Torture and Other Cruel\, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
 . This raises some interesting questions. If these agreements are being re
 spected why would diplomatic assurances be necessary? On the other hand\, 
 if these multilateral international legal commitments are not being respec
 ted why should we think that bilateral\, political promises will be? What 
 does this phenomenon say about the international rule of law?\nDarragh Cof
 fey is a third-year PhD student in Law. His research examines the legal an
 d practical value of diplomatic assurances in this context. He addresses w
 hat these promises add to the legal mechanisms for the protection of indiv
 iduals against ill-treatment. What are the consequences of the internation
 al acceptance of this practice? In this talk he will provide a general\, d
 escriptive overview of the legal and factual contexts in which his researc
 h sits. He will flesh out the questions that have driven his work and prop
 ose some tentative answers.
LOCATION:The Richard King Room\, Darwin College
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