Effective Investigation of Alleged Police Human Rights Abuse: Combating Impunity

Human rights have a procedural side. If there is a complaint, or suspicion, that the police have abused their powers, human rights require such cases to be investigated effectively. This requirement has been developed by international human rights bodies during the last decades, in particular in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights on the right to life and the prohibition of torture. This chapter describes the conditions of an ‘effective’ investigation, including the role of independent police complaint bodies in avoiding impunity for human rights violations.