Torture by Private Actors and ‘Gold-Plating’ the Offence in National Law: An Exchange of Emails in Honour of William Schabas

Abstract

This email exchange seeks offers a snapshot of an argument over whether states parties to the Torture Convention are obliged to criminalize in domestic law the crime of torture as such; and it goes on to explore what are the pros and cons of demanding that torture requires the involvement of a 'state official' and whether states can 'gold plate' their definition of torture in domestic law this extending the crime into the private sphere. In the end this is a discussion about the very nature of torture, or if you like torture's 'quintessence'.

Keywords: torture, international crimes, state actors, non-state actors, public official