Non-Credit Course: Research Training on Police Use of Force Legislation & Jurisprudence

Programme

In collaboration with the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria (UP) is further developing its online repository for national legislation and related caselaw on police use of force. Students who participated in this programme researched how excessive or indiscriminate use of force by the police or other law enforcement agencies is prosecuted in each State, along with convictions and sentences. The analysis of the relevant laws and caselaw was undertaken based on the principles of international human rights law.

The project covered all 197 States (as recognised by the UN Secretary-General) as well as Kosovo and Western Sahara and has been running since 2017 at https://policinglaw.info. Similar websites managed by the UP Centre for Human Rights concern national laws on counterterrorism law (https://counterterrorlaw.info) and on the right of assembly worldwide (https://rightofassembly.info). Since 2017, Oxford students participating in Bonavero non-credit courses have made significant contributions to these projects.

Content of the project

This research training programme provided students with training on research and analysis on use of force legislation and jurisprudence. Each country profile comprises a number of separate sections:

- Constitutional provisions

- Key treaties (at global and regional level)

- National legislation

- Police oversight

- Caselaw and views of UN treaty bodies

All relevant laws and rules in the constitution, penal code, and dedicated legislation of each State were collected and analysed. The relevant laws were also made available for download on the website, in both the original language and an English translation (if available).

The research sought to identify any recently adopted legislation, regulations, or standing operating procedures on police use of force which are not already included on the country profiles. In addition, the research identified relevant caselaw on police use of force in each of the countries with summaries and analysis of key judgments.

Convenor: Professor Stuart Casey-Maslen, Extraordinary Professor, University of Pretoria (South Africa)