Legal Qualification of Torture, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment
Article 28 of the Constitution of Ukraine guarantees that everyone has the right to respect for their dignity. This provision establishes an absolute and non-derogable prohibition on torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. During the armed aggression by the Russian Federation, the systematic use of torture and the creation of inhuman detention conditions in occupation prisons constitute a direct and severe violation of this constitutional norm.
Key Provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine
- “Everyone has the right to respect for their dignity.”
- “No one shall be subjected to torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.”
- “No one may be subjected to medical, scientific, or other experiments without their voluntary consent.”
Absolute Prohibition: The prohibition of torture enshrined in Article 28 cannot be limited even in conditions of war or a state of emergency (Article 64 of the Constitution). Any actions by occupation forces involving humiliation, abuse, or torture of civilians and prisoners of war are unconstitutional.
Evidence of Violations (Torture and Inhuman Treatment)
- Torture and Physical Abuse: Widespread use of torture (electric shocks, water, suffocation, beatings) against civilians and prisoners of war in filtration camps and unlawful detention sites. Examples: torture and abuse of residents in Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol; violation of Article 127 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
- Inhuman Treatment: Prolonged detention of individuals in overcrowded, unheated, unsanitary conditions without access to food, water, or medical care. Examples: conditions in filtration camps in occupied territories of Donbas and Kherson region; violation of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
- Degrading Treatment: Forcing individuals to perform humiliating acts, threats, mockery, forced undressing, and public displays of violence. Examples: documented humiliations of civilians and prisoners by human rights organizations and media.
Legal Consequences
Systematic violations of Article 28 of the Constitution provide grounds for:
- Criminal prosecution of direct perpetrators under Article 127 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Torture) and Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Violation of the Laws and Customs of War).
- International investigation: cases of torture and inhuman treatment serve as key evidence in proving crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court.
- Claims for compensation from the aggressor state for moral and physical harm inflicted on victims.
Sources
- Constitution of Ukraine: Article 28 (Text)
- Related Article: Article 127 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Torture) →
- Related Article: Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Violation of the Laws of War) →
© 1996 — Constitution of Ukraine. Analysis of Violations.
Source: The Aggression Archive