Law & Legal Studies

Abolishing Torture: Notes from a Law Classroom

Abolishing Torture: Notes from a Law Classroom

Why do justifications for practice of torture, cruel or inhuman treatment exist even among legal circles, who presumably are more aware of the total abolition of such practices both internationally and domestically?

Author

Arijeet Ghosh, Assistant Professor, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.

Summary

The practice of torture, cruel or inhuman treatment is abolished both under international law and national law in many countries. Despite this status, its practice is normalised to an extent that, apart from civil society organisations, it does not capture the imagination of the common populace. However, such normalisation among law students to the extent of justification of torture prompts the need for it to become a subject matter of inquiry.

Through this article, experiences as a teacher of human rights are shared and analysed as to why justifications for such practices exist even among legal circles, who presumably are more aware of the total abolition of such practices both internationally and domestically.

Published in: Economic & Political Weekly

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