INTO THE ABYSS OF EVIL: SOME REFLECTIONS ON TORTURE AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Dr.ª NATALINA STAMILE

doi:10.25192/ISSN.1982-0496.RDFD.V.29.II.2751

Authors

Dr.ª NATALINA STAMILE UNIVERSITY OF BRESCIA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25192/ISSN.1982-0496.RDFD.V.29.II.2751

Abstract

The essay tackles the issues raised by the undeniable atrocity of torture and therefore on elaborating the necessity of a value judgment, totally compatible with the concept of law as a claim to justice. In the first part, I focus on historical evolution of torture. Then, theoretical strategies in support of the legitimization of torture will be addressed and critized. Finally, some remarks to intend to reject the use of torture as a manifestation of force and violence in any case will be made.

Keywords: Judicial Torture. Political Torture. Rule of Law. Torture.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Dr.ª NATALINA STAMILE, UNIVERSITY OF BRESCIA

She is currently “Assegnista di ricerca” in Legal Philosophy at the University of Brescia, Italy, and lecturer of Legal Spanish at the Carlo Bo University of Urbino, Italy, and researcher at Universitad Siglo 21, Córdoba, Argentina.

Post-doctoral researcher and Professor in the Postgraduate Programme in Law at the Federal University of Paraná, Brazil (2016–19). She completed her PhD in 2012 on the Legal Theory and European Legal Order programme at Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Italy. She has also been a visiting researcher in numerous universities, and the author of essays and articles in different languages. Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7201-8539

References

AGAMBEN, Giorgio. State of Exception. Translated by Kevin Attell. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2005.

ALEXANDER, Larry. Deontology at the Threshold. San Diego Law Review, n. 37, 2000, pp. 893-1201.

ALLHOFF, Fritz. Terrorism, Ticking Time-Bombs, and Torture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012.

ANDRESANI, Gianluca; STAMILE, Natalina. Bentham: ourcontemporary?. Revista da Faculdade de Direito UFPR, Curitiba, v. 65, n. 3, p. 173-189, 2020.

Augustine of Hippo, De civitate dei (XIX, 6).

BARBERIS, Mauro. Non c'è sicurezza senza libertà. Il fallimento delle politiche antiterrorismo. Bologna: Il Mulino, 2017.

BARGARIC, Mirko; ALLEN, James. The Vacuous Concept of Dignity. Journal of Human Rights, vol, 5, n. 2, 2006, pp. 257-270.

BECCARIA, Cesare.Dei delitti e delle pene. A. Burgio (ed.), Milano: Feltrinelli, 2007, p. 61.

BELLAMY, Alex J. Torture, Terrorism, and the Moral Prohibition on Killing Non-Combatants. In: Werner G. K. Stritzke, Stephan Lewandowsky, David Denemark, Joseph Clare, Frank Morgan (eds). Terrorism and Torture: An Interdisciplinary Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress, 2009.

BETETA MARTÍN, Yolanda. La sexualidad de las brujas. La deconstrucción y subversión de las representaciones artísticas de la brujería, la perversidad y la castración femenina en el arte feminista del siglo XX. Dossiers Feministes, n 18, 2014, pp. 293-307.

BRECHER, Bob.Torture and the Ticking Bomb.Oxford: Blackwell, 2007.

BRUGGER, Winfried. Darf der Staat ausnamsweise foltern?. Der Staat, 35, 1996.

BRUGGER, Winfried. Freiheit und Sicherheit. Eine staatstheoretische Skizze mit praktischen Beispielen. Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2004.

BRUGGER, Winfried.Rettungsfolter im modernen Rechtsstaat?Eine Verortung. Bochum: Kamp, 2005.

BRUGGER, Winfried.Vom unbedingten Verbot der Folter zum bedingten Recht auf Folter?. Juristen Zeitung, vol. 55, no. 4, 2000, pp. 165–173.

BRUGGER, Winfried.Würde gegen Würde. Verwaltungsblätter Baden-Württemberg, 16, 1995, S. 414 f., 446-455.

BUFFACCHI, Vittorio; ARRIGO, Jean Maria. Torture, Terrorism and the State: A Refutation of the Ticking Bomb Argument. Journal of Applied Philosophy, 23, 2006, pp. 355- 373.

BYBEE, Jay. Memorandum for Alberto R. Gonzales counsel to the president: Standards of conduct for interrogation under 18 U.S.C. §§ 2340–2340A. In K. J. Greenberg & J. L. Dratel (eds.). The torture papers: The road to Abu Ghraib (pp. 172–214). New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005.

CARD, Claudia. Ticking Bomb And Interrogations. Criminal Law and Philosophy, 2, 2008, pp. 1-15.

CLUCAS, Bev; JOHNSTONE, Gerry; WARD, Tony (eds.). Torture: Moral Absolutes and Ambiguities. Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, 2009.

COHAN, John Alan. Torture and the Necessity Doctrine. Valparaíso University Law Review, 41, 2007, pp. 1587-1632.

COHEN, Gerald A. Casting the first stone: who can and who can’t condemn the terrorists?.Royal Institute of Philosophy, Supplements, n. 81, Cambridge University Press, 2006, pp. 113-136.

COHEN-ALMAGOR, Raphael. Can Group Rights Justify the Denial of Education to Adolescents? The Amish in the United States as a Case Study. Revista Direitos Sociais e Políticas Públicas (UNIFAFIBE), 9 (2), 2021, pp. 940–981.

COHEN-ALMAGOR, Raphael. Just, Reasonable Multiculturalism. New York and Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021.

CONDE PIRES, Matheus. Todo poder emana do povo. A participação popular das emendas constitucionais no Brasil a partir da tensão entre consitucionalismo e democracia. Londrina: Hoth editora, 2023.

CORTESE, Ennio. Le grandi linee della storia giuridica medioevale. Roma: Il Cigno, 2001.

D’AVACK, Lorenzo. Il paradigma dignità: usi etici e giuridici. Rivista di filosofia del diritto, 1, 2019, pp. 11-22.

DAVIES, Jeremy. The Fire-Raisers: Bentham and Torture. Interdisciplinary Studies in Long Nineteenth Century, 19, 15, 2012.

DERSHOWITZ, Alan. A Should the Ticking Bomb Terrorist Be Tortures? A Case Study in How a Democracy Should Make Tragic Choices. In: J. Feinberg and Jules Coleman (eds). Philosophy of Law. United States: Thomson Higher Education Publishing, 2008, pp. 497-508.

DERSHOWITZ, Alan. The Torture Warrant. New York School Review, 48, 2004.

DERSHOWITZ, Alan. Why Terrorism Works. Understanding the Threat, Responding to the Challenge. New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2002.

Devlin, Lord. The Enforcement of Morals. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1959.

ERRERA, Andrea.Arbor actionum. Genere letterario e forma di classificazione delle azioni nella dottrina dei glossatori. Bologna: Monduzzi editore, 1995.

ERRERA, Andrea.La quaestio medievale e i glossatori bolognesi. Studi senesi, CVIII (III Serie, XLV) 1996, Fasc.3, pp. 490-530.

ERRERA, Andrea.Ricerche sulle actiones mixta e nel sistema dalla Glossa accursiana. Studi senesi, CIV (III Serie, XLI) 1992, Fasc.1, pp. 143-188.

ERRERA, Andrea.The Role of Logic in the Legal Science of the Glossators and The Jurist’s Philosophy of Law from Rome to the Seventeenth Century. In: Padovani, Andrea; Stein, Peter G. (eds). The Jurist’s Philosophy of Law from Rome to the Seventeenth Century. A Treatise of Legal Philosophy and General Jurisprudence, vol. 7, Dordrecht: Springer, 2007, pp. 79-156.

FERLITO, Sergio.Le religioni, il giurista e l’antropologo. Soveria Mannelli: Rubbettino, 2005.

FERRAJOLI, Luigi.Dignità e libertà. Rivista di filosofia del diritto, 1, 2019, pp. 23-32

FERRAJOLI, Luigi.Manifesto per l’uguaglianza. Roma-Bari: Laterza, 2018.

FINNIS, John. Moral Absolutes. Tradition, Revision and Truth. Washington DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1991.

FIORELLI, Piero. La tortura giudiziaria nel diritto comune. Milano: Giuffrè, 1954.

FRAU, Matteo. L’equilibrio originario dei poteri di guerra nella Costituzione americana. Giornale di Storia Costituzionale, n. 33, 2017, pp. 235-252.

FRAU, Matteo. La War Powers “Revolution” del Regno Unito. Federalismi.it, 2/2015.

GROSS, Oren. Are Torture Warrants Warranted? Pragmatic Absolutism and Official Disobedience. Minnesota Law Review, 88, 2004, pp. 1481-1555.

HABERMAS, Jürgen. Between Facts and Norms: contributions to a discourse theory of law and democracy. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1996.

HOWES, Dustin Ells. Torture Is Not a Game: On the Limitations and Dangers of Rational Choice Methods. Political Research Quarterly, 65, 1, 2012, pp. 20-27.

IGNATIEFF, Michael. The Lesser Evil: Political Ethics in an Age of Terror. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004.

JOHN 18, 14.

KÖPCKE TINTURÉ, Maris. “From a World States Bartolus, or the Juristic Foundations of a Key Transition in Western Politicial Thought” paper presented at the seminar at the Pompeu Fabra University. Barcelona: Spain, 2019.

KÖPCKE TINTURÉ, Maris. A Short History of Legal Validity and Invalidity. Foundations of Private and Public Law. Cambridge: Intersentia, 2019.

KÖPCKE TINTURÉ, Maris. Legal Validity. The Fabric of Justice. Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2019.

KRAMER, Matthew H. Michael Moore on Torture, Morality and Law. Ratio Juris, vol. 25, n. 4, 2012, pp. 472-495.

LA TORRE, Massimo. Amistades peligrosas. Tortura y Derecho. Derechos y Libertades, n. 28, 2013, pp. 25 - 38.

LA TORRE, Massimo. La giustizia della tortura. Varianti sul tema. Materiali per una storia della cultura giuridica, n. 1, 2014, pp. 3-30.

LA TORRE, Massimo; LALATTA COSTERBOSA, Marina. Legalizzare la tortura?Ascesa e declino dello Stato di Diritto. Bologna: Il Mulino, 2013.

LEVACK, Brian P. The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe. London: Longman, 2006.

LEVITSKY, Steven; ZIBLATT, Daniel.How Democracies die. New York: Crown Publishing, 2018.

LIJPHART Arend. Patterns of Democracy. Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries. Second edition. New Haven-London: Yale University Press, 2012.

LIOTTA, Filippo (ed.). Studi di storia del diritto medioevale e moderno. Bologna: Monduzzi editore, 1999.

LUHMANN, Niklas. Gibt es in unserer Gesellschaft noch unverzichtbare Normen?.Heidelberg: C.F. Müller, 1993.

MACKLIN, Ruth. Dignity is a Useless Concept (It Means No More than Respect for Persons or Their Autonomy). British Medical Journal, 327, 2003, pp. 1419-1420.

MARK 4:26-29.

MATTHEW 13:24-30.

MAYERFIELD, Jamie In Defense of the Absolute Prohibition of Torture. Public Affairs Quarterly, 22, 2, 2008, pp. 109-128.

MILL, John Stuart. Bentham. In: COWLING, M. (ed.). Selected writings of John Stuart Mill. New York: American Library, 1968.

MILL, John Stuart. Utilitarianism.In: ROBSON, J. M. (ed.). Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, vol. X. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2006.

MILLER, Arthur. The Crucible. London: Penguin, 1952.

MONTESQUIEU, Charles-Louis de Secondat de. De l’esprit des lois [1748]. CARRITHERS, David Wallace;NUGENT, Thomas (eds). The Spirit of Laws a Compendium of the First English Edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977.

MOORE, Michael S. Patrolling the Borders of the Consequentialist Justifications. The Scope of Agent-Relative restrictions. Law and Philosophy, 27, n.1, 2008, pp. 35-96.

MOORE, Michael S. Torture and the Balance of Evils. Israel Law Review, n. 23, 1989, pp. 280-344.

MORGAN, Rod. The Utilitarian Justification of Torture: Denial, Desert, and Disinformation. Punishment and Society, 2, 2000, pp. 181-196.

PAREKH, Bhikhu C. (ed.). Jeremy Bentham: Critical Assessments. New York: Routledge, 1993.

PFIFFNER, James P. The Constitutional Legacy of George W. Bush. Presidential Studies Quarterly, vol. 45, issue 4, 2015, pp. 727-741.

PFIFFNER, James P. The Contemporary Presidency Constraining Executive Power: George W. Bush and the Constitution. Presidential Studies Quarterly, vol. 38, Issue 1, 2008, pp. 123-143.

PILO, Gianni; FUSCO, Sebastiano. Profumo di strega. In: PILO, Gianni; FUSCO, Sebastiano (eds). WIRE, Henry; ALBRIGHT, Robert C.; WRIGHT, Stanley F.; MCCLUSKY, Thorp.Storie di streghe. Roma: Newton, 1994.

Plato, The Republic, Book 1.

POSTEMA, Gerald J. Bentham and the Common Law Tradition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019.

POSTEMA, Gerald J. Utility, Publicity, and Law:Essays on Bentham’s Moral and Legal Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019.

RAWLS, John. A Theory of Justice. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1971 and 1999.

REICHLIN, Massimo. La discussione sulla dignità nella bioetica contemporanea. Bio Law Journal, vol. 4, n. 2, 2017, pp. 93-101.

RODRIGUEZ, Philippe-Aandré. Human Dignity as an Essentially Contested Concept. Cambridge Review of international Affairs, vol. 28, n. 4, 2015, pp. 743-756.

SCHACHTER, Oscar. Human Dignity as a Normative Concept. The AmericanJournal of International Law, vol. 77, n. 4, 1983, pp. 848-854.

SCHMITT, Carl. Political Theory: Four Chapters on the Concept of Sovereignty. Edited and translated by George Schwab. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006.

SCHMITT, Carl. The Concept of the Political. Edited and translated by George Schwab. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.

SILIQUINI-CINELLI, Luca. Bentham and the Common Law Tradition. Edinburgh Law Review, vol. 24, n. 2, 2020.

SILVESTRI, Gaetano.Dal potere ai principi. Libertà ed eguaglianza nel costituzionalismo contemporaneo. Roma-Bari: Laterza, 2009.

SKOLL, Geoffrey R. Torture and the Fifth Amendment Torture, the Global War on Terror, and Constitutional Values. Criminal Justice Review, Vol., 33, n. 1, 2008, pp. 29-47.

SMART, Carol. The Woman of Legal Discourse. Social and Legal Studies, 1, 1992, pp. 29-44.

STAMILE, Natalina. Direito e Gênero: desafios contemporâneos. Revista Brasileira de Direito, Passo Fundo, v. 18, n. 3, p. e4750, out. 2022.

STAMILE, Natalina. La tortura, Ieri, Oggi, Domani (?). In: Santano, A. C.; Meneses Lorenzetto, B.; Gabardo E. (eds). Direitos fundamentais na Nova ordem Mundial., Curitiba: Ithala, 2018, pp. 153-176.

STAMILE, Natalina. On the false myth of the legal neutrality: some remarks. Forthcoming.

STAMILE, Natalina. Para uma discussão crítica do Direito: o jusfeminismo. In: AGUILAR VIANA, Ana Cristina; MENDONÇA BERTOTTI, Bárbara; SOUZA GITIRANA; Julia Heliodoro; CAMARGO KREUZ, Letícia Regina; COSTA, Tailaine Cristina. (eds). Pesquisa, Gênero&Diversidade. Vol. II. , Curitiba: Íthala,, 2020 pp. 39-52.

STAMILE, Natalina. Razonabilidad vs Igualdad ¿Un conflicto entre principios? Ética y Discurso. Revista científica de la Red Internacional de Ética del Discurso, 7, 2022, pp. 1-19.

STAMILE, Natalina.Mucho para ganar y mucho para perder. Comentario al artículo de Torres Sánchez, Ximena. Justicia de género en el plano judicial. Análisis comparado sobre el derecho fundamental de la mujer a tomar decisiones sobre su propio cuerpo en contextos de violencia. Revista Derecho del Estado, Universidad Externado de Colombia, n. 47, 2020, pp. 177-213, https://revistaderechoestado.uexternado.edu.co/2020/12/11/mucho-para-ganar-y-mucho-para-perder/?fbclid=IwAR1Ojvb6l6K7J9pojUAbryzlNlp3rOiYZA2Mu-htTBBvIilxzzbuq4cPfUA#_ftn1, 11 dicembre 2020.

STARR, Bradley E. The Structure of Max Weber's Ethic of Responsibility. The Journal of Religious Ethics, vol. 27, n. 3, 1999, pp. 407-434.

THOMASIUS, Christian. Dissertatio Inauguralis Juridica De Tortura Ex Foris Christianorum Proscribenda, first publication in 1705.

TRAPP, Rainer. Wirklich “Folter” oder nicht vielmehr selbstverschuldete Rettungsbefragung? In: W. Lenzen, (ed.). Ist Folter erlaubt?Juristische und philosophische Aspekte. Paderborn: Mentis, 2007.

TWINING, William L.; TWINING, Peter E. Bentham on Torture. Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, 24, 1973, pp. 305-356.

Verri, Pietro. Osservazioni sulla tortura. Roma: Tascabili Economici Newton, 1994.

VON SONNENFELS, Joseph. Ueber die Abschaffung der Folter, in Sonnenfels gesammelte Schriften, vol. 7, Wien, Mit von Baumeisterischen Schriften, 1785, pp. 51-52.

VON SPEE, Friedrich. Cautio criminalissive Liber de processu contra sagas (1631). Translated in English by Marcus Hellyer. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2003.

WALDRON, Jeremy. Torture and Positive Law. Jurisprudence for the White House. Columbia Law Review, 105, 6, 2005, pp. 1681-1750.

WALDRON, Jeremy. Torture, Terror, and Trade-Offs: Philosophy for the White House. Oxford: Oxford Univeristy Press, 2010.

WEBER, Max. Politics as a Vocation. In: W. G. Runciman (ed.), E. Matthews (trans.). Max Weber: Selections in Translation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1978, pp. 212–225.

WEBSTER, Elaine. Interpretation of the Prohibition of Torture: Making Sense of ‘Dignity Talk’. Human Rights Review, vol. 17, n. 3, 2016, pp. 371-390.

WILLIAMS, Bernard. A Critique of Utilitarianism. In: J.J. C. Smart; Bernard Williams. Utilitarianism For and Against. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1973.

YOO, John, &Delabunty, R. J. Memorandum for William J. Haynes II, General Counsel, Department of Defense. In K. J. Greenberg & J. L. Dratel (eds.). The torture papers: The road to Abu Ghraib. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005.

ZAGREBELSKY, Gustavo. Il diritto mite. Legge diritti giustizia. Torino: Einaudi, 1992.

Sites

European Parliament resolution of 11 February 2015 on anti-terrorism measures in https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-8-2015-0032_EN.html.

Parliamentary questions on 2 March 2016 about the subject: Follow-up to the resolution of

Parliament of 11 February 2015 on the US Senate report on the use of torture by the CIA (2014/2997(RSP)) in https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/O-8-2016-000039_EN.html.

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/O-8-2016-000039_EN.html in

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/B-7-2013-0379_EN.html.

Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union (European Parliament), A quest for accountability? EU and Member State inquiries into the CIA rendition and secret detention programme, 2015, available in https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/812037f3-1213-4aa9-a978-2b9a33511f82/language-en/format-PDF/source-212977491.

CEPS, Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union (European Parliament), The results of inquiries into the CIA's programme of extraordinary rendition and secret prisons in European states in light of the new legal framework following the Lisbon treaty, University of Maastricht, 2015, available in https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/0e07596a-9e90-11e5-8781-01aa75ed71a1/language-en/format-PDF/source-212977491.

Report on the alleged use of European countries by the CIA for the transportation and illegal detention of prisoners (2006/2200(INI)), Temporary Committee on the alleged use of European countries by the CIA for the transportation and illegal detention of prisoners Rapporteur: Giovanni Claudio Fava, available in https://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+REPORT+A6-2007-0020+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN.

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2004_2009/documents/dt/617/617721/617721en.pdf.

EU Charter of Fundamental Rights states. Available in https://fra.europa.eu/en/eu-charter/title/title-i-dignity

https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre#{%22itemid%22:[%22003-5056783-6219425%22]}

file:///C:/Users/valer/Downloads/Judgment%20Cestaro%20v.%20Italia%20-%20police%20violence%20and%20inadequate%20Italian%20criminal%20law.pdf

https://www.giustizia.it/giustizia/it/mg_1_20_1.page?facetNode_1=0_8_1_85&facetNode_2=1_2(2015)&contentId=SDU1158721&previsiousPage=mg_1_20