In the given article it is analyzed the offence of inhuman or degrading treatment provided in the art. 1661 par. (1) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Moldova in the light of the normative standards established by the ECtHR and the jurisprudence of the European Court. As a result, the criteria of the evaluation of the national normative framework were highlighted, in relation to the existing European standards and practices in the field. The pertinent conclusions made by the authors offer the possibility of the understanding of the premises of the definition and incrimination of the torture and of the inhuman or degrading treatments in the criminal legislation of the Republic of Moldova. At the same time, useful criteria were outlined, taken from the rich jurisdictional activity of the European Court that allow the correct delimitation of torture, as the most serious form of maltreatment prohibited by the art. 3 of the ECtHR, of the inhuman or degrading treatment.