Details
- Presents an informed, in-depth analysis of torture as a moral issue and a coherent, passionate defence of the absolute prohibition
- Provides a thoroughly researched examination of current State practice in terrorist interrogation, including the US and Israeli models of coercive interrogation
- Analyses the legal framework prohibiting torture and the attempts to circumvent the prohibition through the 'Defence of Necessity' test
New to this edition
- Includes a new 20 page reflection on recent developments from 2007-2009 bringing the work up to date
This book addresses a dilemma at the heart of counter-terrorist policy: is it ever justifiable to torture terrorists in order to save the lives of others, the so-called 'ticking bomb' scenario?
The book opens with an analysis of the pure moral argument from the standpoint of the individual as torturer. It then looks at the issues that arise once a state has decided to sanction torture in certain situations: how to establish factually that the situation is urgent, deciding who to torture, training people to carry out torture, and the efficacy of torture as a means of gathering information. The final part examines attempts to operate legal systems which tolerate torture; how they relate to the criminal law notion of necessity and to international human rights norms.
After examining the utilitarian arguments for torture, and the impact on a society of permitting torture, the author presents a powerful argument for maintaining the absolute legal prohibition.
Readership: Human rights and legal professionals, academics and advanced students in philosophy, politics and law interested in the arguments surrounding the prohibition on torture and the 'war on terror'.
Sir Nigel Rodley: Foreword
Introduction
Part I: Private Morality: Is it Morally Justifiable for an Individual to Torture a Terrorist in Order to Save Many Innocent Lives?
1: Introduction
2: The wider moral Issue: Do consequences or 'no go areas' determine what is ethical in an extreme situation?
3: Consequentialist argument for torturing in a ticking bomb situation
4: The minimal absolutist approach I: anti-absolutism as morally untenable
5: The minimal absolutist approach II: Arguments for an absolute prohibition on torture
Part II: Public, Practical Morality: Is it Morally Justifiable for a State to Torture in Order to Save Many Innocent Lives?
6: Introduction
7: Is there a 'public morality' that is distinct from 'private morality'?
8: 'Slippery slope' and other dangers
Part III: Legalising Torture 1 - Four Models
9: Introduction
10: The Landau model in Israel
11: The 'torture warrants' model
12: Israel's High Court of Justice model
13: The USA's 'high value detainees' model
Part IV: Legalising Torture 2 - Three Issues
14: Introduction
15: Is it (internationally) legal? Is it torture?
16: The 'defence of necessity' model as legal grounds for torture
Part V: Conclusions
Yuval Ginbar, Legal Adviser, Amnesty International
Yuval Ginbar serves as a legal adviser to Amnesty International and a senior adviser to the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel.
Contributors:
Sir Nigel Rodley
"Ginbar does a splendid job of revealing the weakness of the arguments he encounters,and...manages very effectively to destroy the TBS...Anyone who employs the TBS in future without starting their analysis from where Ginbar ends will not deserve to be taken seriously." - International law, human rights and ethics
"Ginbar's book is an important contribution to the literature on torture. it is lucidly written; thoroughly researched and it provides a challenge to what I believe to be the dominant view, namely the view that the infliction of torture is sometimes permissable or even obligatory. A paperback edition of the book was published in February 2010, which contains an updating chapter, covering recent-or more recent-developments in the United States, Israel and elsewhere." - Public Law Journal Issue 3
"The so-called "ticking bomb" scenario is one of the more intriguing dilemmas in International Law. This book-length analysis of its comprehensive underpinnings is thus a welcome addition to the literature" - ASIL
