Under the Convention Against Torture, the Committee may receive individual complaint. In case of violation of a Convention’s provision, an individual may submit a complaint that must include the following details:
- all relevant information about the complainant such as name, surname, age, etc..;
- the name of the State party against which the complaint is directed; the provision(s) of the Convention alleged to have been violated;
- the circumstances of the case;
- all relevant information about the exhaustion of domestic remedies, expect in the case such remedies are ineffective.
Indeed, submitting complaints to the Committee Against Torture is possible only if:
- it is related to a State that accepted the competence of the Committee to receive and consider individual complaints;
- it is not anonymous;
- it is submitted in writing by the victim, his/her relatives or a third person acting with his explicit consent;
- the same complaint is not under the attention of or has been examined by another international body.
Once the complaint is registered, the Committee brings the communication to the attention of the State Party in question. Once received all relevant information, national authorities have the obligation to explain in writing to the Committee the issues at stake including its statements on the admissibility and the merits of the complaint. The State concerned must be deal with such a request within six months. At the same time, if the Committee considers it appropriate, interim measures may be requested to the State in question in order to avoid any irreparable damage.
In relation to the examination procedure, the Committee considers the admissibility of the communication under above mentioned criteria. When the Committee decides that a complaint is inadmissible it forwards its decision to the complainant and to the State party concerned. However, when the inadmissibility is due to the examination of the same case under another international body or because the complaint is anonymous, the decision may be reviewed.
If the communication is admissible, the Committee decides on its merits. The State party in question may submit all the information it considers necessary for clarifying the case. In such a case, the complainant receives all the statements transmitted by the State and may submit to the Committee any additional observation. Although the Committee holds closed meetings when examining communications, it may invite the complainant or his/her representative and representatives of the State party concerned for further clarifications.
The decisions on the merits are sent to the State concerned and the complainant and may contain individual opinions of one or more members of the Committee who have adopted the decision. Decisions are also included in the Committee’s annual report to the UN General Assembly.
When a violation of the Convention has taken place, the State party is obliged to submit to the Committee information on the measures adopted for complying with the decision. At the same time, the latter may designate may designate a Rapporteur for follow-up on decisions. The Rapporteur will report regularly to the Committee and may also decide to visit the State party in question.