12 Part I: Recognition and usage the likelihood of successful prosecution, while contributing to the assessment of integral reparations that include economic as well as moral and symbolic measures. The Protocol’s procedures to achieve these goals are both therapeutic and forensic, since their application results in information of such quality that can be used persuasively in adjudication. These procedures reflect “best practices” developed by experienced members of the legal and medical professions to ensure proper investigation and punishment as well as integral reparations. For example, prompt medical examination upon incarceration – as required by the Protocol – is one of the most important safeguards against the torture of detained persons, and the health of such persons is the responsibility of states throughout the detention period. Examinations must be performed as promptly as possible upon detention, and the detained person has the right to request or petition a judicial authority for a second medical opinion. The medical examiner must be competent and independent of the detaining authority and both physical and psychological evidence must be taken in such a way as to be of use in legal proceedings. Non-compliance with these requirements creates the presumption of torture attributable to state authorities. The legal value of the Istanbul Protocol The Istanbul Protocol has acquired legal value in accordance with the operation of the classical rules of international law. Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice establishes as sources of international law, inter alia, treaties and customary law, as well as the writings of the “most highly qualified publicists” that serve as “subsidiary means for the determination of rules of law”. The Istanbul Protocol was drafted through the collaboration of numerous renowned experts and organisations dedicated to the prevention of torture, has been adopted as authoritative by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, and even incorporated into domestic law in several countries. Accordingly, the Istanbul Protocol represents the work of the most highly qualified publicists, as envisioned by the Statute, and is available as a subsidiary means for determining the scope and content of the general prohibition. It may therefore be applied as a legitimate, norma-