Handbook on Handcuffs and Other Instruments of Restraint in Court Hearings

This Handbook presents the factors to be considered by judicial authorities when considering the use of instruments of restraint, aiming to promote the absolute exceptionality of their use, to reduce inadequate habits and techniques andto prevent of human rights violation arising from the use of handcuffs in the courtroom. The primary audience is the judiciary, but it is also relevant for other legal professionals, law enforcement officials, independent monitoring bodies, human rights organisations and the victims of state violence and their families.

This Handbook was developed by the Omega Research Foundation, together with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Brazilian National Justice Council (Conselho Nacional de Justiça - CNJ) under the Programme Fazendo Justiça, an initiative of the CNJ in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the National Penitentiary Department of Brazil (DEPEN).