22/01/2019 Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Unacceptable conditions during transfers of prisoners may amount to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, contrary to Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Committee on Legal Affairs underlined.
International standards relating to the conditions in which prisoners can properly be transported are increasingly clear. Yet, the Court’s judgments and relevant CPT reports, show that these standards are either insufficiently known and understood, or inadequately applied, in a number of Council of Europe member States.
Adopting a draft resolution, based on the report prepared by Emanuel Mallia (Malta, SOC), the Committee urged the Council of Europe member States to bring their national legal frameworks and practices in line with existing international standards on transfers and to avoid any substandard or discriminatory treatment of prisoners during transfers.
Any restrictions placed on prisoners during transportation shall be limited to what is strictly necessary and proportionate to the legitimate objective for which they are imposed.