Prohibition of torture

In 2019, Liechtenstein submitted its last report to the Committee against Torture under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). In the reporting year, this 5th report was examined by the Committee and discussed with a state delegation. In June 2024, the Committee published 20 recommendations - three of them urgent - to Liechtenstein to improve implementation of the Convention Liechtenstein. The Committee also notes that its previous recommendations have not yet been fully implemented. Liechtenstein must provide information on the implementation of the recommendations in its next report. Liechtenstein must report in writing on the implementation of the three urgent recommendations by May 10, 2025.

Statute of limitations on torture

In addition to various recommendations in connection with deprivation of liberty and detention (see chapter "Detention"), the Committee considers it urgent that an appropriate penalty for acts of torture be set in the Criminal Code and that the statute of limitations for torture be abolished so that perpetrators cannot go unpunished.

Procedural rights

The Anti-Torture Committee is concerned that police interrogations in Liechtenstein are not systematically documented by audio or video recording and that juveniles can be interrogated without a trusted person or legal counsel, whereby they themselves must submit a corresponding request. It recommends introducing such recordings as standard, storing them securely and making them accessible to all parties involved in the proceedings, as well as ensuring that young people always have automatic access to a trusted person and legal counsel during questioning without having to request this themselves.

Independent monitoring mechanism

Even though no cases of torture and abuse have been documented for years, the Committee misses an independent mechanism in the country that takes action in the event of such allegations and is authorized to investigate them. This is provided for in Art. 12 and 13 of the Convention. It considers an internal police working group, as it has been created, to be not only unsuitable but also counterproductive, as there must be no institutional or hierarchical relationships between the investigators and the alleged perpetrators.

Apart from this, Liechtenstein has created the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) in accordance with Article 3 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT), which takes preventive action by systematically visiting places of detention. Articles 17 to 23 of the Protocol set out the characteristics and powers of this mechanism: The mechanism must operate independently of the government, administration and judiciary and must not be subject to political or institutional instructions. It must be based on a legal foundation, its members must be appointed transparently and on a professional basis, and it must have sufficient staff, budget and expertise. It must have unhindered and unannounced access to all places of deprivation of liberty and report regularly on its own initiative to the government, parliament and the public.

Since its creation in 2006, the National Preventive Mechanism in Liechtenstein has been implemented via the government's Prison Service Commission. This means that the mechanism and the Prison Service Commission are staffed identically. The mandate of the Prison Commission is regulated in Art. 17 of the Prison Act. Although this commission is also independent and not bound by instructions, its members are considered civil servants, are formally appointed by the government and are required to report to the government. It should therefore be examined whether an identical composition of the NPM and the Prison Service Commission is compatible with the Additional Protocol to the Convention or whether the two commissions should be separated. At the same time, it could also be examined whether the NPM could also be given the function of an independent mechanism for investigating allegations of torture in accordance with Art. 12 and 13 CAT.

 

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