Trade of goods that could be used for capital punishment and torture is in the European Union regulated by the Regulation (EU) 2019/125 of 16 January 2019 concerning trade in certain goods which could be used for capital punishment, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishmnet (Codification). This Regulation consolidates the various amendments to the Council Regulation (EC) No 1236/2005 that were adopted since its entry into force.
It prohibits exports and imports of goods that have no practical use other than for the purpose of capital punishment or for the purpose of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It also makes exports of goods that could be used for capital punishment, for torture or for cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, subject to a prior export authorisation issued by the competent authorities of the EU Member States. The lists of prohibited and controlled goods are set out in the Annexes of the Regulation (EU) 2019/125.
Regulation concerning trade in certain goods which could be used for capital punishment, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is related to international obligations and to the protection of human rights through regulations on trade in goods which could be used for capital punishment, and goods that could be used for torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In addition to promoting respect for human life and basic human rights, these rules should ensure that entities have no benefit from the trade that promotes or facilitates capital punishment policies or torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment.The Regulation furthermore includes specific rules for the control of exports applied to certain pharmaceutical substances used in lethal injections (see Annex IV).