Law
enforcement officials shall at all times fulfil the duty imposed upon them by
law, by serving the community and by protecting all persons against illegal
acts, consistent with the high degree of responsibility required by their
profession. Commentary:
(a) The term "law enforcement officials',
includes all officers of the law, whether appointed or elected, who exercise
police powers, especially the powers of arrest or detention.
(b) In countries where police powers are
exercised by military authorities, whether uniformed or not, or by State
security forces, the definition of law enforcement officials shall be regarded
as including officers of such services.
(c) Service to the community is intended to
include particularly the rendition of services of assistance to those members
of the community who by reason of personal, economic, social or other
emergencies are in need of immediate aid.
(d) This provision is intended to cover not
only all violent, predatory and harmful acts, but extends to the full range of
prohibitions under penal statutes. It extends to conduct by persons not capable
of incurring criminal liability.
In
the performance of their duty, law enforcement officials shall respect and
protect human dignity and maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons.
Commentary:
(a) The human rights in question are identified
and protected by national and international law. Among the relevant
international instruments are the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Declaration on the
Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the United Nations Declaration on
the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the
International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of
Apartheid, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide, the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and the
Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
(b) National commentaries to this provision
should indicate regional or national provisions identifying and protecting
these rights.
Law
enforcement officials may use force only when strictly necessary and to the
extent required for the performance of their duty.
Commentary:
(a) This provision emphasizes that the use of
force by law enforcement officials should be exceptional; while it implies that
law enforcement officials may be authorized to use force as is reasonably
necessary under the circumstances for the prevention of crime or in effecting
or assisting in the lawful arrest of offenders or suspected offenders, no force
going beyond that may be used.
(b) National law ordinarily restricts the use
of force by law enforcement officials in accordance with a principle of
proportionality. It is to be understood that such national principles of
proportionality are to be respected in the interpretation of this provision. In
no case should this provision be interpreted to authorize the use of force
which is disproportionate to the legitimate objective to be achieved.
(c) The use of firearms is considered an
extreme measure. Every effort should be made to exclude the use of firearms,
especially against children. In general, firearms should not be used except
when a suspected offender offers armed resistance or otherwise jeopardizes the
lives of others and less extreme measures are not sufficient to restrain or
apprehend the suspected offender. In every instance in which a firearm is
discharged, a report should be made promptly to the competent authorities.
Matters
of a confidential nature in the possession of law enforcement officials shall
be kept confidential , unless the performance of duty or the needs of justice
strictly require otherwise.
Commentary:
By the nature of their duties, law enforcement
officials obtain information which may relate to private lives or be
potentially harmful to the interests, and especially the reputation, of others.
Great care should be exercised in safeguarding and using such information,
which should be disclosed only in the performance of duty or to serve the needs
of justice. Any disclosure of such information for other purposes is wholly
improper.
No
law enforcement official may inflict, instigate or tolerate any act of torture
or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, nor may any law
enforcement official invoke superior orders or exceptional circumstances such
as a state of war or a threat of war, a threat to national security, internal
political instability or any other public emergency as a justification of
torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment .
Commentary:
(a) This prohibition derives from the
Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted by the
General Assembly, according to which: "[Such an act is] an offence to
human dignity and shall be condemned as a denial of the purposes of the Charter
of the United Nations and as a violation of the human rights and fundamental
freedoms proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [and other
international human rights instruments]."
(b) The Declaration defines torture as
follows:
". . . torture means any act by which
severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally
inflicted by or at the instigation of a public official on a person for such
purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or confession,
punishing him for an act he has committed or is suspected of having committed,
or intimidating him or other persons. It does not include pain or suffering
arising only from, inherent in or incidental to, lawful sanctions to the extent
consistent with the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of
Prisoners."
(c) The term "cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment" has not been defined by the General Assembly but
should be interpreted so as to extend the widest possible protection against
abuses, whether physical or mental.
Law
enforcement officials shall ensure the full protection of the health of persons
in their custody and, in particular, shall take immediate action to secure
medical attention whenever required.
Commentary:
(a) "Medical attention", which
refers to services rendered by any medical personnel, including certified
medical practitioners and paramedics, shall be secured when needed or
requested.
(b) While the medical personnel are likely to
be attached to the law enforcement operation, law enforcement officials must
take into account the judgement of such personnel when they recommend providing
the person in custody with appropriate treatment through, or in consultation
with, medical personnel from outside the law enforcement operation.
(c) It is understood that law enforcement
officials shall also secure medical attention for victims of violations of law
or of accidents occurring in the course of violations of law.
Law
enforcement officials shall not commit any act of corruption. They shall also
rigorously oppose and combat all such acts.
Commentary:
(a) Any act of corruption, in the same way as
any other abuse of authority, is incompatible with the profession of law
enforcement officials. The law must be enforced fully with respect to any law
enforcement official who commits an act of corruption, as Governments cannot
expect to enforce the law among their citizens if they cannot, or will not,
enforce the law against their own agents and within their agencies.
(b) While the definition of corruption must be
subject to national law, it should be understood to encompass the commission or
omission of an act in the performance of or in connection with one's duties, in
response to gifts, promises or incentives demanded or accepted, or the wrongful
receipt of these once the act has been committed or omitted.
(c) The expression "act of
corruption" referred to above should be understood to encompass attempted
corruption.
Law
enforcement officials shall respect the law and the present Code. They shall
also, to the best of their capability, prevent and rigorously oppose any
violations of them.
Law enforcement officials who have reason to
believe that a violation of the present Code has occurred or is about to occur
shall report the matter to their superior authorities and, where necessary, to
other appropriate authorities or organs vested with reviewing or remedial
power.
Commentary:
(a) This Code shall be observed whenever it
has been incorporated into national legislation or practice. If legislation or
practice contains stricter provisions than those of the present Code, those
stricter provisions shall be observed.
(b) The article seeks to preserve the balance
between the need for internal discipline of the agency on which public safety
is largely dependent, on the one hand, and the need for dealing with violations
of basic human rights, on the other. Law enforcement officials shall report
violations within the chain of command and take other lawful action outside the
chain of command only when no other remedies are available or effective. It is
understood that law enforcement officials shall not suffer administrative or
other penalties because they have reported that a violation of this Code has
occurred or is about to occur.
(c) The term "appropriate authorities or
organs vested with reviewing or remedial power" refers to any authority or
organ existing under national law, whether internal to the law enforcement
agency or independent thereof, with statutory, customary or other power to
review grievances and complaints arising out of violations within the purview
of this Code.
(d) In some countries, the mass media may be
regarded as performing complaint review functions similar to those described in
subparagraph (c) above. Law enforcement officials may, therefore, be justified
if, as a last resort and in accordance with the laws and customs of their own
countries and with the provisions of article 4 of the present Code, they bring
violations to the attention of public opinion through the mass media.
(e) Law enforcement officials who comply with
the provisions of this Code deserve the respect, the full support and the
co-operation of the community and of the law enforcement agency in which they
serve, as well as the law enforcement profession.
© Copyright 1997 - 2000
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Geneva, Switzerland