Is there a UK law against ‘cruel and unusual punishment’?
The Guardian: Shadowfirebird wants to know what constitutes ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ and whether it is disallowed in this country.
Shadowfirebird asks:
“Do we have in this country a principle of disallowing cruel and unusual punishment, and if so, what constitutes “cruel and unusual”? For example, is it cruel or unusual to specify as a condition of your release that you must tell anyone you enter into a relationship with your true identity – when it seems almost certain that this will end the relationship, and threaten your life at the same time?”
The term “cruel and unusual punishment” comes from the eighth amendment to the US constitution . We have no law that uses those exact terms. What we do have is article 3 of the European convention on human rights, now part of our law by virtue of the Human Rights Act, which states: “No one shall be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
Human rights: from Europe to the UK
Guardian: Government report highlights vexed issue of implementation of European human rights judgments in domestic law
Harvard Prof Sees Legal Profession in Turmoil
ABA Journal: The legal profession is “seeing the acceleration of large-scale trends which were accentuated [by the recession]. They will have a profound impact on all lawyers’ practices and how we regulate, compensate and train lawyers,” Harvard Law School professor David B. Wilkins told the ABA House of Delegates on Monday.
“We’re much less in control—[lawyers] used to control pretty much everything,” Wilkins said. “Today, in many areas, the state actively intervenes in the way the profession operates.” He cited the Korean government, which made the Korean bar increase the number of lawyers it trains each year.