Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials
Adopted by General Assembly resolution 34/169 of 17 December
1979
Law
enforcement officials shall at all times fulfil the
duty imposed upon them by law, by serving the community and by protecting all persons
against illegal acts, consistent with the high degree of responsibility
required by their profession.
( a ) 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.
( b ) 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.
( c ) Service to
the community is intended to include particularly the rendition of services of
assistance to those members of the community who by reason of personal,
economic, social or other emergencies are in need of immediate aid.
( d ) This
provision is intended to cover not only all violent, predatory and harmful
acts, but extends to the full range of prohibitions under penal statutes. It
extends to conduct by persons not capable of incurring criminal liability.
In the
performance of their duty, law enforcement officials shall respect and protect human dignity and maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons.
( a ) The human
rights in question are identified and protected by national and international
law. Among the relevant international instruments are the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the
Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the United
Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,
the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination, the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment
of the Crime of Apartheid , the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of
the Crime of Genocide, the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of
Prisoners and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
( b ) National
commentaries to this provision should indicate regional or national provisions
identifying and protecting these rights.
Law
enforcement officials may use force only when strictly necessary and to the
extent required for the performance of their duty.
( a ) This
provision emphasizes that the use of force by law enforcement officials should
be exceptional; while it implies that law enforcement officials may be
authorized to use force as is reasonably necessary under the circumstances for
the prevention of crime or in effecting or assisting in the lawful arrest of
offenders or suspected offenders, no force going beyond that may be used.
( b ) National law
ordinarily restricts the use of force by law enforcement officials in
accordance with a principle of proportionality. It is to be understood that
such national principles of proportionality are to be respected in the
interpretation of this provision. In no case should this provision be
interpreted to authorize the use of force which is disproportionate to the
legitimate objective to be achieved.
( c ) The use of
firearms is considered an extreme measure. Every effort should be made to
exclude the use of firearms, especially against children. In general, firearms
should not be used except when a suspected offender offers armed resistance or
otherwise jeopardizes the lives of others and less extreme measures are not
sufficient to restrain or apprehend the suspected offender. In every instance
in which a firearm is discharged, a report should be made promptly to the
competent authorities.
Matters of a confidential nature in the possession of law enforcement
officials shall be kept confidential, unless the performance of duty or the
needs of justice strictly require otherwise.
By the
nature of their duties, law enforcement officials obtain information which may
relate to private lives or be potentially harmful to
the interests, and especially the reputation, of others. Great care should be
exercised in safeguarding and using such information, which should be disclosed
only in the performance of duty or to serve the needs of justice. Any
disclosure of such information for other purposes is wholly improper.
No law enforcement official may inflict, instigate or tolerate any act
of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, nor
may any law enforcement official invoke superior orders or exceptional
circumstances such as a state of war or a threat of war, a threat to national
security, internal political instability or any other public emergency as a
justification of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment.
( a ) This
prohibition derives from the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from
Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment, adopted by the General Assembly, according to which:
"[Such
an act is] an offence to human dignity and shall be condemned as a denial of
the purposes of the Charter of the United Nations and as a violation of the
human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights [and other international human rights instruments]."
( b ) The Declaration defines torture as follows:
".
. . torture means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical
or mental, is intentionally inflicted by or at the instigation of a public
official on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person
information or confession, punishing him for an act he has committed or is
suspected of having committed, or intimidating him or other persons. It does
not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to,
lawful sanctions to the extent consistent with the Standard Minimum Rules for
the Treatment of Prisoners."
( c ) The term
"cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" has not been
defined by the General Assembly but should be interpreted so as to extend the
widest possible protection against abuses, whether physical or mental.
Law enforcement officials shall ensure the full protection of the health
of persons in their custody and, in particular,
shall take immediate action to secure medical attention whenever required.
( a ) "Medical
attention", which refers to services rendered by any medical personnel,
including certified medical practitioners and paramedics, shall be secured when
needed or requested.
( b ) While the
medical personnel are likely to be attached to the law enforcement operation,
law enforcement officials must take into account the judgement
of such personnel when they recommend providing the person in custody with
appropriate treatment through, or in consultation with, medical personnel from
outside the law enforcement operation.
( c ) It is
understood that law enforcement officials shall also secure medical attention
for victims of violations of law or of accidents occurring in the course of
violations of law.
Law enforcement officials shall not commit any act of corruption. They
shall also rigorously oppose and combat all such acts.
( a ) Any act of
corruption, in the same way as any other abuse of authority, is incompatible
with the profession of law enforcement officials. The law must be enforced fully
with respect to any law enforcement official who commits an act of corruption,
as Governments cannot expect to enforce the law among their citizens if they
cannot, or will not, enforce the law against their own agents and within their
agencies.
( b ) While the
definition of corruption must be subject to national law, it should be
understood to encompass the commission or omission of an act in the performance
of or in connection with one's duties, in response to gifts, promises or
incentives demanded or accepted, or the wrongful receipt of these once the act
has been committed or omitted.
( c ) The
expression "act of corruption" referred to above should be understood
to encompass attempted corruption.
Law enforcement officials shall respect the law and the present Code.
They shall also, to the best of their capability, prevent and rigorously oppose
any violations of them.
Law
enforcement officials who have reason to believe that a violation of the
present Code has occurred or is about to occur shall report the matter to their
superior authorities and, where necessary, to other appropriate authorities or
organs vested with reviewing or remedial power.
( a ) This Code
shall be observed whenever it has been incorporated into national legislation
or practice. If legislation or practice contains stricter provisions than those
of the present Code, those stricter provisions shall be observed.
( b ) The article
seeks to preserve the balance between the need for internal discipline of the
agency on which public safety is largely dependent, on the one hand, and the
need for dealing with violations of basic human rights, on the other. Law
enforcement officials shall report violations within the chain of command and
take other lawful action outside the chain of command only when no other
remedies are available or effective. It is understood that law enforcement
officials shall not suffer administrative or other penalties because they have
reported that a violation of this Code has occurred or is about to occur.
( c ) The term
"appropriate authorities or organs vested with reviewing or remedial
power" refers to any authority or organ existing under national law,
whether internal to the law enforcement agency or independent thereof, with
statutory, customary or other power to review grievances and complaints arising
out of violations within the purview of this Code.
( d ) In some
countries, the mass media may be regarded as performing complaint review
functions similar to those described in subparagraph ( c ) above. Law
enforcement officials may, therefore, be justified if, as a last resort and in
accordance with the laws and customs of their own countries and with the
provisions of article 4 of the present Code, they bring violations to the
attention of public opinion through the mass media.
( e ) Law
enforcement officials who comply with the provisions of this Code deserve the
respect, the full support and the co-operation of the community and of the law
enforcement agency in which they serve, as well as the law enforcement
profession.