ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the six propositions of Order-versus-Justice in relation to the prohibition of torture. It starts by introducing the prohibition of torture in IHRL from the 1948 UDHR to the 1984 CAT and its Optional Protocol of 2002. Second, the chapter examines the level of clarity of the norm, how burdensome it is, the extent to which it fits in liberal parameters, and the role of non-state norm entrepreneurs in prohibiting torture in international law. The chapter uses specific cases to illustrate the evolution of the interpretation of the prohibition of torture by independent bodies: From the Northern Ireland case in the 1970s to more recent case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, as well as the relevant general comments of the Human Rights Committee and the Committee Against Torture in the 1990s and 2000s, and the international jurisprudence on the jus cogens status of the prohibition of torture. The chapter also examines the evolution of the practice and discourse of the UK and Spain in relation to the prohibition of torture since the mid-1980s by looking at their respective positions in the drafting process of the CAT, as well as the interaction of the two countries with the UN Human Rights Committee, the Committee Against Torture, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, and the UN Special Procedures with torture-related mandates.
