“For Such Purposes As”: Towards an Embedded and Embodied Understanding of Torture’s Purpose

Purpose is a constitutive element of torture under article 1 of the UN ConventionAgainst Torture (UNCAT). It is increasingly and widely accepted as being thedeterminative aggravating factor differentiating between tortureand forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment orpunishment (hereafter “CIDTP” or “ill-treatment”). Compared to the depth ofdiscussion on other constitutive elements such as severity of pain andsuffering and official capacity , the dimensions ofpurpose have remained relatively and unduly overlooked inscholarship on torture. As the significance of purpose asdifferentiator becomes increasingly established, there is acorresponding need to better understand its dimensions—particularly to questionthe rationale for having it mark an aggravation of state violence. This paperwill draw and build upon the literature and jurisprudence pertaining to afunctionality-oriented, teleological construction of torture, before situatingthe discussion in torture's broader ecology in order tocritically examine and expand understandings of its purpose, bottom-up,situationally and institutionally.