40 BOUYID v. BELGIUM JUDGMENT – SEPARATE OPINION diminishes human dignity constitutes a violation of Article 3, irrespective of its impact on the person concerned (see paragraph 101). For our part, we consider that the specific circumstances are of fundamental importance. It is not for the Court to impose general rules of conduct on law-enforcement officers; instead, its task is limited to examining the applicants’ individual situation to the extent that they allege that they were personally affected by the treatment complained of (see, mutatis mutandis, Lorsé and Others v. the Netherlands, no. 52750/99, § 62, 4 February 2003; Van der Ven v. the Netherlands, no. 50901/99, § 50, ECHR 2003-II; and Lindström and Mässeli v. Finland, no. 24630/10, § 41, 14 January 2014). Certain factors dictate that the seriousness of the violence inflicted on the applicants should be put in perspective. These concern in particular the duration of the treatment, its physical or psychological effects, the intention or motivation behind it, and the context in which it was inflicted (see the aspects held to be relevant in the Court’s case-law, as recapitulated in paragraph 86 of the present judgment). As the Chamber noted, both the incidents in the present case involved an isolated slap inflicted thoughtlessly by a police officer who was exasperated by the applicants’ disrespectful or provocative conduct, in a context of tension between the members of the applicants’ family and police officers in their neighbourhood, and there were no serious or long-term effects (see paragraph 51 of the Chamber judgment). Although the treatment complained of was unacceptable (see paragraph 3 above), we are unable to find that it attained the minimum level of severity to be classified as “degrading treatment” within the meaning of Article 3 of the Convention. 7. We fear that the judgment may impose an unrealistic standard by rendering meaningless the requirement of a minimum level of severity for acts of violence by law-enforcement officers. Police officers may well be required to exercise self-control in all circumstances, regardless of the behaviour of the person they are dealing with (see paragraph 108 of the present judgment), but this will not prevent incidents in which people behave provocatively towards them – as in the present case – and cause them to lose their temper. It will then be for the appropriate domestic courts, where necessary, to determine whether the officers’ behaviour may have been excusable. To conclude, as the majority have, that in any such incident the State will be responsible for a violation of the victims’ fundamental rights, in particular because of a failure to train officials “in such a manner as to ensure their high level of competence” (ibid.), is in our view a clear underestimation of the various difficulties that may be encountered in reallife situations. This observation cannot be countered by stating that the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is absolute, regardless of the conduct of the person concerned (ibid.). We too subscribe to the absolute nature of this prohibition. However, it only applies once it