20 İLHAN v. TURKEY JUDGMENT breach of Article 2 of the Convention. It is correct that the criminal responsibility of those concerned in the use of force is not in issue in the proceedings under the Convention (see the McCann and Others judgment cited above, p. 51, § 173). Nonetheless, the degree and type of force used and the unequivocal intention or aim behind the use of force may, among other factors, be relevant in assessing whether in a particular case the State agents' actions in inflicting injury short of death must be regarded as incompatible with the object and purpose of Article 2 of the Convention. In almost all cases where a person is assaulted or ill-treated by the police or soldiers, their complaints will fall to be examined rather under Article 3 of the Convention. 77. The Court recalls that Abdüllatif İlhan suffered brain damage following at least one blow to the head with a rifle butt inflicted by gendarmes who had been ordered to apprehend him during an operation and who kicked and beat him when they found him hiding in some bushes. Two contemporaneous medical reports identified the head injury as being of a life-threatening character. This has left him with a long-term loss of function. The seriousness of his injury is therefore not in doubt. However, the Court is not persuaded in the circumstances of this case that the use of force applied by the gendarmes when they apprehended Abdüllatif İlhan was of such a nature or degree as to breach Article 2 of the Convention. Nor does any separate issue arise in this context concerning the alleged lack of prompt medical treatment for his injuries. It will, however, examine these aspects further under Article 3 of the Convention below. 78. It follows that there has been no violation of Article 2 of the Convention concerning the infliction of injuries on Abdüllatif İlhan. 2. Concerning the positive and procedural obligations under Article 2 of the Convention 79. In the light of its finding above and having regard to the facts of this case, which differ from the cases of killings by unknown perpetrators cited by the applicant (see Mahmut Kaya and Kılıç cited above), the Court finds it unnecessary to examine the allegations under Article 2 of the Convention that there was a failure on the part of the authorities to protect Abdüllatif İlhan's right to life or to conduct an effective investigation into the use of force. IV. ALLEGED VIOLATIONS OF ARTICLE 3 OF THE CONVENTION 80. The applicant complained that Abdüllatif İlhan was subjected to torture and inhuman and degrading treatment, and that there was no adequate or effective investigation of this ill-treatment. He invoked Article 3 of the Convention which provides: