human rights
Universal rights that limit state power in policing, prosecution and the courts
Human rights are universal, legally binding rights that protect the individual citizen against abuse and arbitrariness on the part of the state — including by the police, the prosecution service and the courts. In the context of crime and the justice system, two rights in particular come to the fore: the prohibition of torture and of inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to a fair trial.
Under Danish law, the European Convention on Human Rights (Den Europæiske Menneskerettighedskonvention, ECHR) has been incorporated as applicable Danish law by Act No. 285 of 29 April 1992. This means that Danish authorities and courts are directly obliged to comply with the provisions of the Convention, and that citizens can invoke the Convention before Danish courts.
Article 3 of the ECHR lays down the absolute prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment — a prohibition that cannot be derogated from under any circumstances, not even in wartime or in emergencies. It is this provision that is central in cases such as that of Magnus Gäfgen, where German police officers threatened him with torture during questioning, and in the discussions about the treatment of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay.
Article 6 secures the right to a fair trial, including the right to a hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal. This provision is relevant in cases where prolonged pre-trial detention, inadequate access to a defence or procedural errors raise questions of due process — as seen in the case of Jens Söring, which has stretched over decades.
In a true crime context, human rights function as a yardstick: not for whether the accused is guilty, but for whether the state has observed the limits that a society governed by law has set for itself in the exercise of criminal justice.
