Chapter 2 • The Major Universal Human Rights Instruments and the Mechanisms for Their Implementation
3.3 The Body of Principles for the Protection of All
Persons under Any Form of Detention or
Imprisonment, 1988
The Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of
Detention or Imprisonment, 1988, is a comprehensive statement of 39 principles,
which cannot be invoked to restrict the rights of persons deprived of their liberty
recognized by other national or international sources of law on the ground that they are
not contained in this Body of Principles (Principle 3 and General Clause). The Body of
Principles emphasizes, in particular, questions of effective control of all forms of
detention including judicial or other review of the continued detention. It further
provides details as to conditions of arrest, the notification of arrest or transfer to a
different place of detention to the family or other persons, the right of a person
deprived of his or her liberty to communicate with family and legal counsel,
interrogations, impartial visits to places of detention to supervise the observance of
laws and regulations and, for instance, the question of remedies to challenge both the
lawfulness of the deprivation of liberty and the treatment to which the person has been
subjected whilst deprived of his or her liberty.
3.4 The United Nations Rules for the Protection of
Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, 1990
The United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their
Liberty, 1990, emphasize that imprisonment for juveniles “should be used as a last
resort” (Rule 1), and provide extensive guidance with regard to the rights of juveniles
within the justice system, for instance, in connection with arrest or detention and when
they are awaiting trial. They also regulate the management of juvenile facilities, inter alia
with regard to record keeping, the physical environment and accommodation,
education, vocational training and work, recreation, religion, medical care, limitations
of physical restraint and the use of force, disciplinary procedures, as well as inspection
and complaints.
3.5 The Principles of Medical Ethics relevant to the
Role of Health Personnel, particularly Physicians,
in the Protection of Prisoners and Detainees
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 1982
The Principles of Medical Ethics relevant to the Role of Health Personnel,
particularly Physicians, in the Protection of Prisoners and Detainees against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 1982, is a brief set
of six principles which emphasize the duty of all health personnel charged with the
medical care of prisoners and detainees to provide them with the same protection of
their physical and mental care as is afforded to those who are not deprived of their
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