|
Basic Principles on the Use of
Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials
Adopted by the Eighth
United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment
of Offenders, Havana, Cuba, 27 August to 7 September 1990.
Whereas the work of law enforcement
officials * is a social service of great importance and there is,
therefore, a need to maintain and, whenever necessary, to improve
the working conditions and status of these officials,
Whereas a threat to the life and
safety of law enforcement officials must be seen as a threat to the
stability of society as a whole,
Whereas law enforcement officials
have a vital role in the protection of the right to life, liberty
and security of the person, as guaranteed in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and reaffirmed in the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
Whereas the Standard Minimum Rules
for the Treatment of Prisoners provide for the circumstances in
which prison officials may use force in the course of their duties,
Whereas article 3 of the Code of
Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials provides that law enforcement
officials may use force only when strictly necessary and to the
extent required for the performance of their duty,
Whereas the preparatory meeting for
the Seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and
the Treatment of Offenders, held at Varenna, Italy, agreed on
elements to be considered in the course of further work on
restraints on the use of force and firearms by law enforcement
officials,
Whereas the Seventh Congress, in its
resolution 14, inter alia, emphasizes that the use of force and
firearms by law enforcement officials should be commensurate with
due respect for human rights,
Whereas the Economic and Social
Council, in its resolution 1986/10, section IX, of 21 May 1986,
invited Member States to pay particular attention in the
implementation of the Code to the use of force and firearms by law
enforcement officials, and the General Assembly, in its resolution
41/149 of 4 December 1986, inter alia, welcomed this recommendation
made by the Council,
Whereas it is appropriate that, with
due regard to their personal safety, consideration be given to the
role of law enforcement officials in relation to the administration
of justice, to the protection of the right to life, liberty and
security of the person, to their responsibility to maintain public
safety and social peace and to the importance of their
qualifications, training and conduct,
The basic principles set forth
below, which have been formulated to assist Member States in their
task of ensuring and promoting the proper role of law enforcement
officials, should be taken into account and respected by Governments
within the framework of their national legislation and practice, and
be brought to the attention of law enforcement officials as well as
other persons, such as judges, prosecutors, lawyers, members of the
executive branch and the legislature, and the public.
General provisions
1. Governments and law enforcement
agencies shall adopt and implement rules and regulations on the
use of force and firearms against persons by law enforcement
officials. In developing such rules and regulations, Governments
and law enforcement agencies shall keep the ethical issues
associated with the use of force and firearms constantly under
review.
2. Governments and law
enforcement agencies should develop a range of means as broad as
possible and equip law enforcement officials with various types
of weapons and ammunition that would allow for a differentiated
use of force and firearms. These should include the development
of non-lethal incapacitating weapons for use in appropriate
situations, with a view to increasingly restraining the
application of means capable of causing death or injury to
persons. For the same purpose, it should also be possible for
law enforcement officials to be equipped with self-defensive
equipment such as shields, helmets, bullet-proof vests and
bullet-proof means of transportation, in order to decrease the
need to use weapons of any kind.
3. The development and
deployment of non-lethal incapacitating weapons should be
carefully evaluated in order to minimize the risk of endangering
uninvolved persons, and the use of such weapons should be
carefully controlled.
4. Law enforcement officials, in
carrying out their duty, shall, as far as possible, apply
non-violent means before resorting to the use of force and
firearms. They may use force and firearms only if other means
remain ineffective or without any promise of achieving the
intended result.
5. Whenever the lawful use of
force and firearms is unavoidable, law enforcement officials
shall:
(a) Exercise restraint in such
use and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offence
and the legitimate objective to be achieved;
(b) Minimize damage and
injury, and respect and preserve human life;
(c) Ensure that assistance
and medical aid are rendered to any injured or affected
persons at the earliest possible moment;
(d) Ensure that relatives or
close friends of the injured or affected person are notified
at the earliest possible moment.
6. Where injury or death is caused
by the use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials,
they shall report the incident promptly to their superiors, in
accordance with principle 22.
7. Governments shall ensure that
arbitrary or abusive use of force and firearms by law
enforcement officials is punished as a criminal offence under
their law.
8. Exceptional circumstances
such as internal political instability or any other public
emergency may not be invoked to justify any departure from these
basic principles.
Special provisions
9. Law enforcement officials shall
not use firearms against persons except in self-defence or
defence of others against the imminent threat of death or
serious injury, to prevent the perpetration of a particularly
serious crime involving grave threat to life, to arrest a person
presenting such a danger and resisting their authority, or to
prevent his or her escape, and only when less extreme means are
insufficient to achieve these objectives. In any event,
intentional lethal use of firearms may only be made when
strictly unavoidable in order to protect life.
10. In the circumstances
provided for under principle 9, law enforcement officials shall
identify themselves as such and give a clear warning of their
intent to use firearms, with sufficient time for the warning to
be observed, unless to do so would unduly place the law
enforcement officials at risk or would create a risk of death or
serious harm to other persons, or would be clearly inappropriate
or pointless in the circumstances of the incident.
11. Rules and regulations on the
use of firearms by law enforcement officials should include
guidelines that:
(a) Specify the circumstances
under which law enforcement officials are authorized to
carry firearms and prescribe the types of firearms and
ammunition permitted;
(b) Ensure that firearms are
used only in appropriate circumstances and in a manner
likely to decrease the risk of unnecessary harm;
(c) Prohibit the use of
those firearms and ammunition that cause unwarranted injury
or present an unwarranted risk;
(d) Regulate the control,
storage and issuing of firearms, including procedures for
ensuring that law enforcement officials are accountable for
the firearms and ammunition issued to them;
(e) Provide for warnings to
be given, if appropriate, when firearms are to be
discharged;
(f) Provide for a system of
reporting whenever law enforcement officials use firearms in
the performance of their duty.
Policing unlawful assemblies
12. As everyone is allowed to
participate in lawful and peaceful assemblies, in accordance
with the principles embodied in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, Governments and law enforcement agencies and
officials shall recognize that force and firearms may be used
only in accordance with principles 13 and 14.
13. In the dispersal of
assemblies that are unlawful but non-violent, law enforcement
officials shall avoid the use of force or, where that is not
practicable, shall restrict such force to the minimum extent
necessary.
14. In the dispersal of violent
assemblies, law enforcement officials may use firearms only when
less dangerous means are not practicable and only to the minimum
extent necessary. Law enforcement officials shall not use
firearms in such cases, except under the conditions stipulated
in principle 9.
Policing persons in custody
or detention
15. Law enforcement officials, in
their relations with persons in custody or detention, shall not
use force, except when strictly necessary for the maintenance of
security and order within the institution, or when personal
safety is threatened.
16. Law enforcement officials,
in their relations with persons in custody or detention, shall
not use firearms, except in self-defence or in the defence of
others against the immediate threat of death or serious injury,
or when strictly necessary to prevent the escape of a person in
custody or detention presenting the danger referred to in
principle 9.
17. The preceding principles are
without prejudice to the rights, duties and responsibilities of
prison officials, as set out in the Standard Minimum Rules for
the Treatment of Prisoners, particularly rules 33, 34 and 54.
Qualifications, training and
counselling
18. Governments and law enforcement
agencies shall ensure that all law enforcement officials are
selected by proper screening procedures, have appropriate moral,
psychological and physical qualities for the effective exercise
of their functions and receive continuous and thorough
professional training. Their continued fitness to perform these
functions should be subject to periodic review.
19. Governments and law
enforcement agencies shall ensure that all law enforcement
officials are provided with training and are tested in
accordance with appropriate proficiency standards in the use of
force. Those law enforcement officials who are required to carry
firearms should be authorized to do so only upon completion of
special training in their use.
20. In the training of law
enforcement officials, Governments and law enforcement agencies
shall give special attention to issues of police ethics and
human rights, especially in the investigative process, to
alternatives to the use of force and firearms, including the
peaceful settlement of conflicts, the understanding of crowd
behaviour, and the methods of persuasion, negotiation and
mediation, as well as to technical means, with a view to
limiting the use of force and firearms. Law enforcement agencies
should review their training programmes and operational
procedures in the light of particular incidents.
21. Governments and law
enforcement agencies shall make stress counselling available to
law enforcement officials who are involved in situations where
force and firearms are used.
Reporting and review
procedures
22. Governments and law enforcement
agencies shall establish effective reporting and review
procedures for all incidents referred to in principles 6 and 11
(f). For incidents reported pursuant to these principles,
Governments and law enforcement agencies shall ensure that an
effective review process is available and that independent
administrative or prosecutorial authorities are in a position to
exercise jurisdiction in appropriate circumstances. In cases of
death and serious injury or other grave consequences, a detailed
report shall be sent promptly to the competent authorities
responsible for administrative review and judicial control.
23. Persons affected by the use
of force and firearms or their legal representatives shall have
access to an independent process, including a judicial process.
In the event of the death of such persons, this provision shall
apply to their dependants accordingly.
24. Governments and law
enforcement agencies shall ensure that superior officers are
held responsible if they know, or should have known, that law
enforcement officials under their command are resorting, or have
resorted, to the unlawful use of force and firearms, and they
did not take all measures in their power to prevent, suppress or
report such use.
25. Governments and law
enforcement agencies shall ensure that no criminal or
disciplinary sanction is imposed on law enforcement officials
who, in compliance with the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement
Officials and these basic principles, refuse to carry out an
order to use force and firearms, or who report such use by other
officials.
26. Obedience to superior orders
shall be no defence if law enforcement officials knew that an
order to use force and firearms resulting in the death or
serious injury of a person was manifestly unlawful and had a
reasonable opportunity to refuse to follow it. In any case,
responsibility also rests on the superiors who gave the unlawful
orders.
Note:
* In accordance with the commentary
to article 1 of the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement
Officials, the term ''law enforcement officials" includes all
officers of the law, whether appointed or elected, who exercise
police powers, especially the powers of arrest or detention. In
countries where police powers are exercised by military
authorities, whether uniformed or not, or by State security
forces, the definition of law enforcement officials shall be
regarded as including officers of such services.
|