2
( b ) National law ordinarily restricts the use of force by law enforcement officials in accordance with a
principle of proportionality. It is to be understood that such national principles of proportionality are to
be respected in the interpretation of this provision. In no case should this provision be interpreted to
authorize the use of force which is disproportionate to the legitimate objective to be achieved.
( c ) The use of firearms is considered an extreme measure. Every effort should be made to exclude
the use of firearms, especially against children. In general, firearms should not be used except when a
suspected offender offers armed resistance or otherwise jeopardizes the lives of others and less
extreme measures are not sufficient to restrain or apprehend the suspected offender. In every
instance in which a firearm is discharged, a report should be made promptly to the competent
authorities.
Article 4
Matters of a confidential nature in the possession of law enforcement officials shall be kept
confidential, unless the performance of duty or the needs of justice strictly require otherwise.
Commentary :
By the nature of their duties, law enforcement officials obtain information which may relate to private
lives or be potentially harmful to the interests, and especially the reputation, of others. Great care
should be exercised in safeguarding and using such information, which should be disclosed only in the
performance of duty or to serve the needs of justice. Any disclosure of such information for other
purposes is wholly improper.
Article 5
No law enforcement official may inflict, instigate or tolerate any act of torture or other cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment, nor may any law enforcement official invoke superior orders or
exceptional circumstances such as a state of war or a threat of war, a threat to national security,
internal political instability or any other public emergency as a justification of torture or other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Commentary :
( a ) This prohibition derives from the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being
Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted by
the General Assembly, according to which:
"[Such an act is] an offence to human dignity and shall be condemned as a denial of the purposes of
the Charter of the United Nations and as a violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms
proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [and other international human rights
instruments]."
( b ) The Declaration defines torture as follows:
". . . torture means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is
intentionally inflicted by or at the instigation of a public official on a person for such purposes as
obtaining from him or a third person information or confession, punishing him for an act he has
committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating him or other persons. It does not
include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to, lawful sanctions to the extent
consistent with the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners."
( c ) The term "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" has not been defined by the
General Assembly but should be interpreted so as to extend the widest possible protection against
abuses, whether physical or mental.
Article 6