The right not to be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is one of the fundamental values of a democratic society. Throughout the judicial practice, the European Court of Human Rights has developed a series of negative obligations of the contracting states aimed to ensure the true respect of this absolute right. In this study, have been analyzed the formal categories of negative obligations resulting from the interpretation of article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights , by exemplifying the cases resolved by the Court in this matter. The delimitation and the description of the negative obligations performed in the present work will be useful for the authorities of the state whose activity involves, in particular, the temporary detention of persons.