Handbook_European_Convention_Police_ENG

THE EUROPEAN

CONVENTION

ON HUMAN RIGHTS

AND POLICING

Page 3

Jim Murdoch

Professor Jim Murdoch joined the School of Law at the University of Glasgow after qualifying as a solicitor. He read Law as an undergraduate at Glasgow and has an LLM from the University of California at Berkeley. He was Head of the School of Law between 1996 and 2000. He has taught at the Universities of Mainz, Freiburg, Hamburg and Paris Ouest, and was a professeur stagiaire with the Directorate of Human Rights of the Council of Europe. He specialises in domestic and European human rights law. Professor Jim Murdoch is a regular participant in Council of Europe co-operation activities in Central and East European states and has developed a particular interest in non-judicial human rights enforcement mechanisms.

Ralph Roche

Ralph Roche studied at Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin in Ireland. He is a solicitor, admitted in Northern Ireland and in England and Wales. He has long experience of working in human rights, including at the Human Rights Chamber for Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Northern Ireland. In 2004, he co-authored a book entitled “Commentary on the European Convention on Human Rights as applied in Bosnia and Herzegovina and at Strasbourg” which was published in English and the languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ralph Roche has worked for many years as a Council of Europe consultant in policing and human rights across the Europe.

■ This handbook was published in the framework of the Joint Programme between the European Union and the Council of Europe entitled “Reinforcing the fight against ill-treatment and impunity”.

The European Convention on Human Rights and Policing Page 4

Contents

Contents Page 5

Page 7

Introduction

T he handbook“The European Convention on Human Rights and Policing” is published in the framework of the Joint Programme between the European Union and the Council of Europe entitled “Reinforcing the fight against ill-treatment and impunity”, as part of the efforts to enhance the professionalism of police and in view of disseminating Council of Europe

standards on policing.

The main purposes of the police in a democratic society governed by the rule of law are:

ffto maintain public tranquillity and law and order in society;

ffto protect and respect the individual’s fundamental rights and freedoms as enshrined, in particular, in the European Convention on Human Rights;

ffto prevent and combat crime; ffto detect crime;

ffto provide assistance and service functions to the public.1

In the interest of independent, impartial and effective delivery of policing services, and to protect against political interference, the police are granted a wide degree of discretion in the performance of their duties. For the purpose of performing their duties, the law provides the police with coercive powers and the police may use reasonable force when lawfully exercising their powers. In recent decades, as scientific and technological knowledge have advanced, the special powers available to the police for the purpose of performing their duties have increased, together with their capacity to intrude in people’s lives and interfere with individual human rights.2

1Recommendation Rec(2001)10 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the European Code of Police Ethics at Article I.1.

2Opinion CommDH(2009)4 of the Commissioner for Human Rights concerning Independent and Effective Determination of Complaints against the Police at paragraphs 15-17.

Introduction Page 9

(CPT) and other relevant standards established within the framework of the Council of Europe. Therefore, it shall become a useful tool in the hands of police and other state authorities in order to prevent and fight police misconduct or impunity and uphold the human rights.

Christos Giakoumopoulos

Director of Human Rights

Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law

Council of Europe