BOUYID v. BELGIUM JUDGMENT
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be vigilant in this area and make a special effort in the case of juveniles who have
been deprived of their liberty.
The CPT further recommends that law-enforcement officers be given an appropriate
reminder at regular intervals that any form of ill-treatment of persons deprived of their
liberty – including insults – is unacceptable, that any information regarding alleged
ill-treatment will be properly investigated, and that anyone responsible for such
treatment will be severely punished.
12. More specifically, concerning allegations of ill-treatment by law-enforcement
officers when arresting a suspect, the CPT has repeatedly noted that this process
undeniably represents a difficult and dangerous task at times, in particular when the
person concerned resists or the law-enforcement officers have good reason to believe
that the person poses an imminent threat. However, the use of force when making an
arrest must be kept to what is strictly necessary; furthermore, there can never be any
justification for striking apprehended persons once they have been brought under
control.”
The CPT’s report on its visit to Belgium from 28 September to 7 October
2009 (CPT/Inf (2010) 24, 23 July 2010) contains the following passage in
particular:
“13. In the course of its visits to police stations, the CPT delegation met only a few
people who were deprived of their liberty. Nevertheless, while visiting prisons, it met
a large number of people who had recently been in police custody.
The majority of the detainees who spoke to the delegation did not report any
instances of deliberate physical ill-treatment during their time in police custody.
However, the delegation heard a limited number of allegations of excessive use of
force (such as blows inflicted after the person had been brought under control, or
excessively tight handcuffing) in the course of an arrest (particularly in Brussels,
Charleroi and Marcinelle). As the CPT has often acknowledged, arresting a suspect is
undeniably a difficult and dangerous task at times, in particular when the person
concerned resists or the police have good reason to believe that the person poses an
imminent threat. Nevertheless, the CPT recommends that police officers be reminded
that when making an arrest, the use of force must be kept to what is strictly necessary;
furthermore, there can never be any justification for striking apprehended persons
once they have been brought under control.”
C. The European Code of Police Ethics
50. In its Recommendation Rec(2001)10 on the European Code of
Police Ethics adopted on 19 September 2001, the Committee of Ministers of
the Council of Europe stated its conviction that
“public confidence in the police is closely related to their attitude and behaviour
towards the public, in particular their respect for the human dignity and fundamental
rights and freedoms of the individual as enshrined, in particular, in the European
Convention on Human Rights”.
It recommended that the governments of member States be guided in
their internal legislation, practice and codes of conduct of the police by the
principles set out in the European Code of Police Ethics appended to the