Folter vor Gericht

Torture is banned without exception in many national legal systems and by international law. In Germany there exist various legal provisions that grant the victims of torture or other forms of severe maltreatment a permanent right of residence or at least protect them from deportation. There are established standards for medical and psychological expertises on traumatized victims. The German Federal Administrative Court has set minimum requirements for the substantiation of post-traumatic stress disorders in medical certificates. And the implementation of a Common European asylum system is intended by 2012. Theoretically, it seems clear what problems emerge in practice: the fair treatment of torture victims in asylum procedures. The aim of this anthology is to explore the possibilities and limitations of the different specialist areas involved in asylum procedures, to further strengthen interdisciplinary exchange between specialists and to offer new conceptual approaches.