Is there a private cause of action for breaches of the prohibition against torture?
British Columbia, Canada
The following excerpt is from Araya v. Nevsun Resources Ltd., 2017 BCCA 401 (CanLII):
Thus far, courts in both the U.K. and Canada have declined to recognize a private cause of action for breaches of jus cogens such as the prohibition against torture. In these cases – all of which were brought against sovereign states – the principle of state immunity has weighed strongly against upsetting the “balance currently struck in international law ‘between the condemnation of torture as an international crime against humanity and the principle that states must treat each other as equals not to be subjected to each other’s jurisdiction’”. (Per Lord Bingham in Jones v. Ministry of Interior of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, at para. 1.)
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