tive coercive or cooperative efforts to insure their protection. Thus, the object of the normative prescription of international criminal law is specific conduct identified as harmful to a given world social interest whose protection is deemed to require the imposition of criminal sanctions on the authors of such harm and which sanctions are enforced by the member states of the world community through collective, cooperative or national action» (8). The proposed Convention for the Prevention and Suppression of the Practice of Torture which is suggested and whose text follows addresses the lacunae noted above in the following ways:

1) it provides a clear and acceptable definition of torture which has not existed so far;

2) it applies to all contexts in which torture occurs and extends universally to all states;

3) it focuses on the one form of torture least likely to be effectively handled by domestic measures without some form of international duty and control: torture inflicted by or on behalf of public officials;

4) it holds individuals responsible for violations, thereby avoiding the practical deadlock resulting from use solely of state responsibility;

5) it creates a credible threat of punishment of individuals by declaring torture, as defined, by public officials to be an international crime;

6) it provides a duty on all signatories to extradite persons so accused for their prosecution and punishment;

7) its mechanism operates to focus maximum international condemnation upon a state for refusing to prosecute or extradite a torturer;

8) it sets out specific preventive measures for states to carry out;

9) it provides some modicum of international implementation, within recognized and already applicable means;

10) it reinforces and strenghtens the resolve and ability of individuals and states opposing the practice without placing unreasonable duties or creating undue embarassment for states willing to comply therewith.

Conclusion

Torture is an inhuman, cruel, degrading and debasing practice whose eradication is compelled by contemporary values and aspirations of the world community. The attainment of this goal can only be achieved by a combination of factors which include: national opposition to the practice, strenghtening of individual resolve to stand against it, and the development of effective

means to prevent and suppress its occurence. National and international implementation of such a goal will depend largely on individual and collective resolve to wilfully collaborate in its attainment. In time the commonly shared values and expectations of the world community will simply cause it to wither away, just as has been the case for slavery and slave trade even though occasional incidents may still occur. Nothing in the proposed approach and the conventional scheme proferred is beyond existing international modes of implementation. For all these reasons and for the arguments discussed in this study the adoption of the proposed Convention first by appropriate U. N. organs and thereafter by all civilized states is a likely and reasonable prospect which is hopefully anticipated. It must be noted however, that such a convention for the prevention and suppression of the practice of torture should also be supplemented by other measures which can hopefully be enforced. Among these are:

1) The Draft Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, submitted to the General Assembly for action in 1977;

2) The elaboration of a Code of Conduct for the Legal Profession;

3) The elaboration of a Code of Conduct for the Medical Profession, and Other Categories of Medical Personel.

4) A set of Principles for the Protection of Detainees.

The latter is presently being considered by the Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities in the nature of: A Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons Under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment.

(1) See Nanda and Bassiouni, « Slavery and Slave Trade: Steps toward its Eradication », 12 Santa Clara Lawyer 424 (1972). See also, M. Moskowitz, The Politics and Dynamics of Human Rights (1968); and McDougal, Lasswell and Chen, « Human Rights and World Public Order: A Framework for Policy-Oriented Inquiry », 63 A. J. I. L. 237 (1969), which states at 267: << Let it be said immediately that a certain minimum of values indispensable to a dignified human existence must be prescribed as immune from all claims of derogation at all times. Notably among these are the right to life, freedom from torture and inhuman treatment, freedom from involuntary human experimentations, freedom from slavery, the slave trade and servitude, freedom from imprisonment for debt, freedom from retroactive application of criminal punishment, the right to recognition as a human being, and freedom of thought, conscience and religion. These rights and freedoms are indispensable to a dignified human existence and must remain wholly intact from derogation upon grounds of crisis. In terms of our basic postulation, it can never be necessary to encroach upon these rights and freedoms, even in time of emergency. Nor would their deprivation ever be proportional. If the emerging concept of jus cogens is to be given rational meaning in the context of a world public order of human dignity, its bedrock must be in this minimal protection of human rights ».

(2) Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice of « The

Legal Consequences for States of the Continued Presence of South Africa in Namibia Ñotwithstanding Security Council Resolution 276 (1970) », 1971 I. C. J. Rep. 16. Schwelb, «The International Court of Justice and the Human Rights Clauses of the Charter », 66 A. J. I. L. 337 (1972), and M. C. Bassiouni, International Extradition and World Public Order (1974) at 151 et. seq. on human rights and state responsibility.

(3) Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands v. Greece, Application Nos. 3321/67, 3322/67, and 3344/67; and Ireland v. U. K. Application No. 5310/71, decided by the European Commission on Human Rights Oct. 1, 1972.

(4) M. C. Bassiouni and V. P. Nanda, A Treatise on International Criminal Law (1973) Vol. II; and Bassiouni, «An Appraisal of the Growth and Developing Trends in International Criminal Law », 45 Rev. Internationale de Droit Pénal 405 (1974). See also, S. Plawski, Etude des Principes Fondamentaux du Droit International Pénal (1972); C. Lombois, Droit Pénal International (1971) and D. Oehler, Internationales Strafrecht (1973).

(5) See the procedure for the processing of individual complaints under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, implemented by ECOSOC Res. 1503 (1970).

(6) Bassiouni, «The International Narcotics Control System »>, 46 St. John's L. Rev. 713 (1972); Bassiouni, « International Aspects of Drug Abuse: Problems and a Proposal », 9 John Marshall J. Prac. & Proc. 3 (1975).

(7) Bassiouni, « The 'Human Rights Program': The Veneer of Civilization Thickens », 21 De Paul L. Rev. 271 at 277-78 (1971).

(8) Bassiouni, supra note 4 at 4. See also, L. B. Sohn and M. E. Galey, Twenty-fifth Report of the Commission to Study the Organization of Peace, New Aspects of the International Protection of Human Rights (1977), especially at 24-25.

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