Abstract

This paper examines the main features of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment in the attempt to assess whether it represents the missing tile or a duplication in the international scenario of torture preventive mechanisms. The Optional Protocol establishes a double-tier system, as while creating the Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture, it also requires that State parties establish or designate national preventive mechanisms. These national mechanisms represent the added value of the Protocol and allow the latter to carve out a specific operative scope in the broad context of international and regional preventive mechanisms, therefore avoiding any risk of duplication or overlapping. However, with regards to the Italian legal system, the success and functioning of the Optional Protocol is at risk, owing to the recent questionable ratification, notably under the profile of an (inexistent) appropriate budget allocation for the future national preventive mechanisms.