Recent Scholarship: Torture and Positive Law

Jeremy Waldron, "Torture and Positive Law: Jurisprudence for the White House," 105 Colum. L. Rev. 1681 (2005)

From the Columbia Law Review, an article that "argues that the prohibition on torture is not just one rule among others, but a legal archetype—a provision which is emblematic of our larger commitment to non-brutality in the legal system. Characterizing it as an archetype affects how we think about the implications of authorizing torture (or interrogation methods that come close to torture). It affects how we think about issues of definition in regard to torture. And it affects how we think about the absolute character of the legal and moral prohibitions on torture. . . .the Article concludes not only that the absolute prohibition on torture should remain in force, but also that any attempt to loosen it . . .would deal a traumatic blow to our legal system and affect our ability to sustain the law's commitment to human dignity and nonbrutality even in areas where torture as such is not involved."

Further Information:

Columbia Law Review
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Daniel Levin, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice, LEGAL STANDARDS APPLICABLE UNDER 18 U.S.C. §§ 2340-2340A: MEMORANDUM OPINION FOR THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL, December 30, 2023 (discussing federal criminal prohibition against torture)