A/HRC/30/18 D. Right not to be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 25. In his 2009 report, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment explored whether the death penalty was compatible with the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment under international law (A/HRC/10/44). He noted that the interpretation of legal provisions was subject to change over time, as had been the case with the prohibition of corporal punishment. The prohibition of corporal punishment had evolved to the point that it was now considered a direct assault on the dignity of a person and should be qualified by all relevant human rights bodies as cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. He concluded that maintaining the distinction between a dynamic interpretation that finds that corporal punishment is prohibited, while upholding that capital punishment is compatible with international law, was increasingly difficult. 26. The Special Rapporteur has concluded that “a new approach is needed as there is evidence of an evolving standard within international bodies and a robust State practice to frame the debate about the legality of the death penalty within the context of the fundamental concepts of human dignity and the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. This evolving standard, along with the resulting illegality of the death penalty under such prohibition, is developing into a norm of customary law, if it has not already done so” (see A/67/279, para. 74). 27. In examining whether the death penalty per se violates the prohibition of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, recent jurisprudence should be taken into consideration. For example, in 2013, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that “whole life” sentences with no possibility of review and no prospect of release constituted inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment, and were in breach of the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment.29 28. In statements before various international forums, several States and regional bodies have indicated that the death penalty is a violation of the prohibition of torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment. Bulgaria stated that it considered the death penalty to be an extreme form of physical and psychological violence for human beings and as such, it constituted cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment. Denmark expressed the view that the death penalty was brutal and inhuman, no matter how cruel the offence. Finland considered the death penalty a cruel and inhuman form of punishment. Italy classified capital punishment as inhuman treatment. Mongolia justified the abolition of capital punishment by referring to the degrading character of the death penalty. Slovenia considered that the death penalty constituted cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and a violation of international law. Spain held that the death penalty was cruel and inhuman treatment. The European Union stated that it found the death penalty to be cruel and inhuman, representing an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity.30 29. National courts have also expressed similar views. For instance, in the case of People v. Anderson, California Supreme Court in the United States of America found that “the cruelty of capital punishment lies not only in the execution itself and the pain incident thereto, but also in the dehumanizing effects of the lengthy imprisonment prior to execution during which the judicial and administrative procedures essential to due process of law are 29 30 See http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/fra/pages/search.aspx?i=001-122664#{%22itemid%22:[%22001122664%22]}. Copies of the relevant statements are on the file with the Secretariat and are available for consultation. 9