In its principled rhetoric, the European Court of Human Rights consistently refers to the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment in Article 3 ECHR as absolute. The Court has stated that ‘[e] ven in the most difficult of circumstances, such as the fight against terrorism or crime, the Convention prohibits in absolute terms torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’and that ‘[t] he philosophical basis underpinning the absolute nature of the right under Article 3 does not allow for any exceptions […] or balancing of interests’. Taken at face value, these passages lead to a straightforward principled conclusion: because Article 3 ECHR is absolute, its application is a matter of definition only.