Regarding the prevention and investigation of incidents of torture, one of the most urgent problems has long been the absence of internationally acknowledged guidelines for their effective and thorough documentation. Initiated by the Turkish Medical Association, the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey and the Physicians for Human Rights USA, and with the joint effort of more than 75 experts from different fields, representing 40 organizations in 15 countries, those guidelines were developed and finally published in 1999 as the Istanbul Protocol: Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Within one year the Protocol was adopted by the UN General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Committee and in 2004 it was published as part of the UN’s Professional Training Series. The second volume of the book series Medicine and Human Rights offers for the first time a complete German translation of this important document. It contains background information regarding legal and ethical issues as well as general considerations for conducting an investigation. Two comprehensive chapters and four annexes deal with the physical and psychological consequences of torture and their diagnosis. The volume is completed by an account comprising the history of the protocol and its current usage in the European context.