The right to life and forced feeding of persons deprived of liberty

Abstract

The article draws attention to the peculiarities of the procedure for legislative regulation of the use of force-feeding of prisoners under the influence of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. The difference between the absolute right to life and health and the subjective right to dispose of one’s life and health in the event of being declared deprived of liberty on hunger strike is indicated. With reference to international documents, it is proved that force-feeding of prisoners contradicts their right to personal integrity and falls under the signs of torture. It is shown that the participation of a doctor in force-feeding of prisoners is unacceptable, since it does not comply with the principles of medical ethics. The article indicates that most of the types of force-feeding enshrined in Part 3 of Article 116 of the Criminal and Executive Code of Ukraine are characterized as inhumane and are a manifestation of torture. It is emphasized that international acts and decisions of international bodies (European Court of Human Rights, International Red Cross) proceed from the inadmissibility of force-feeding prisoners, which is equated with torture. The inadmissibility of force-feeding prisoners is proven and the opinion is argued regarding the prohibition of this type of treatment of convicts, since it is a violation of the human right to dispose of one's life and health. In order to eliminate the contradiction in this issue between domestic legislation and international practice, a new wording of Part 3 of Article 116 of the Criminal and Executive Code of Ukraine is proposed so that force-feeding prisoners is generally prohibited.