The first edition of this Commentary was published to much acclaim in 2008. This second edition appeared in 2019 and now takes account of the work of both the Committee against Torture (CAT) and the Sub-Committee for the Prevention of Torture (SPT) to March 2017, with some later material also drawn upon. To describe this as an ‘update’ would fail to do justice to its significance. When the first edition appeared, the SPT had only just come into being and there was little real practice for it to take account of at all. Part II of this Commentary which addresses the Optional Protocol now takes full account of the nearly ten years of work by the SPT and represents the first systematic account of this. Similarly, the work of the CAT has continued to expand and evolve since the publication of the first edition and this too has been carefully worked into the already expansive and detailed text.

First and foremost, this is a commentary on the articles of the Convention and the Optional Protocol. Each article is presented in turn and is considered according to a common format. Following a short contextual introduction, the travaux préparatoires are presented and analysed. This is then followed by a section exploring ‘issues of interpretation’ arising from the text. Some of these relate to the interpretation of the terms found in the article in question, others relate to more holistic issues concerning each article as a whole. So, for example, the section addressing Article 1 of the Convention, its definition, looks at both the meaning of each of the principal definitional elements, but also whether the article actually establishes a discrete obligation not to torture—something which is usually assumed but, as the Commentary rightly points out, is not expressly provided for.

The first edition was structured slightly differently, with issues of ‘interpretation’ presented following the travaux préparatoires, as now, but then followed by a section looking at the work of the committee in relation to the article in question separately. In retrospect this was somewhat unfortunate, since the issues identified were often looked at twice: from a textual perspective and then from the committee's perspective. Not only did this lead to some unnecessary repetition in what was already a very large volume, but it meant that the work of the committee was, in a sense, held up for scrutiny against the strict wording of the text in a manner that was not always helpful and, perhaps, failed to properly reflect the role of the committee as an authoritative interpreter of the convention text. This edition addresses this by fully integrating the work of the respective committees into the sections looking at issues of interpretation. As a result, the issues addressed are not limited to those arising from the convention texts themselves but also from the work and practice of the committees. As a result, the Commentary has a more integrated feel, with greater weight placed on the work of the committees. This, then, is another reason why this edition is far more than ‘merely’ an update. There is a subtle, but significant, recalibration of the weight placed upon the work of the committees.

The article-by-article commentary approach inevitably has some downsides, the chief of which is that it is difficult to gain a sense of where the real innovations in the practice of the committees has been. They are all properly mentioned in the appropriate places, but this perhaps blunts the recognition of their impact. For example, the section on State reporting obligations rightly highlights the ‘Simplified Reporting Procedure’ (formerly known as the Lists of Issues Prior to Reporting, or LOIPR) but the broader significance of this innovation is not readily apparent. As a result of UNGA Resolution 68/268 (2014) on Treaty Body Strengthening, increasingly this has become the default procedure for the consideration of periodic reports across the treaty body system as a whole. Likewise, the work of the SPT in relation to thematic issues relating to torture, such as corruption, are difficult to locate within a format which still—inevitably—has a primary focus on the convention texts rather than developmental work of the committees. To that extent, the advances in structure highlighted above are only partial remedies to the problem of how best to reflect on the significance of both the treaties and the work of their respective committees holistically. At the moment, evaluations of practice largely occur at the end of the consideration of each article. Perhaps a future edition could allow more space for reflecting on developments concerning the treaty frameworks more generally.

That said, this Commentary is anything but sterile. The views of the authors on the materials presented are freely given and, whilst one might not always concur with the conclusions drawn, they are generally very helpful and rooted in careful analysis. Indeed, as the authors make clear in the introduction, they have benefitted considerably from conversations with members of both committees and the UN Secretariat, and this has considerably enriched the nuance of their presentation. This Commentary is the essential point of reference for any work concerning the Convention and Optional Protocol. Its authors have fully drawn on their encyclopaedic knowledge of issues concerning torture, and torture prevention, and effectively combined this with informed and perceptive observation. As a result, it is a gold mine of information and insight.

For all the wrong reasons, it should also be said that the Commentary is more ‘up to date’ than, perhaps, the dateline suggests. As a result of budgetary crises within the UN and then the impact of COVID-19-related restrictions, at the time this review was written, the SPT had not undertaken a visit since September 2019. Somewhat less understandably, the CAT ceased meeting to consider substantive matters early in 2020 due to COVID-19, and has only recently resumed its consideration of State reports. In other words, neither committee has generated a great deal of additional practice following the appearance of this volume. It is to be hoped that, in due course, this—and the more general impact of COVID-19 on the work under the Convention against Torture and its Optional Protocol—will be considered in a third edition of this essential vade mecum to these treaties and their treaty bodies.