ABSTRACT

This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts discussed in this book. The book shows how processes of interpretation can coalesce into a rationale behind the scope of meaning and application of the right not to be subjected to degrading treatment. It also shows how this rationale might impact on the understanding of the interpretive scope of the broader right not to be subjected to torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The framework for forming a more developed interpretation of degrading treatment has rested on foundations of legal meaning and acknowledgement of the purposive nature of The European Court of Human Rights' (ECtHR's) interpretive approach. A central conclusion about the meaning of degrading treatment is that the term 'degrading' should be understood to have a narrow conceptual core and the term 'treatment' should be understood to have a wide conceptual core.