Upholding the Absolute Ban on Torture: Submission to the Independent Human Rights Act Review

This submission was prepared jointly by REDRESS and Hogan Lovells in response to the call for evidence of the Independent Human Rights Act Review published 13 January 2021. The principal aim of this submission is to share an understanding of how the Human Rights Act 1998 has, through its existing framework, effectively implemented the absolute prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as set out in Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. However, the Article 3 prohibition cannot properly be understood in isolation from the other ECHR rights, or from other human rights obligations accepted by the UK. Accordingly, where responses to questions in the call for evidence require, a holistic view is offered.