Annual Report 2010 by the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture see no reason for the widespread use of separating screens that stop any physical contact between inmates and their visitors. Special attention needs to be paid to the need to uphold the privacy of these visits. The constitutional right to legal counsel is guaranteed The CIEs in Madrid and Malaga have entered into agreements with the corresponding bar associations for the provision of free legal aid services The information on international protection is insufficient Inmates should be more speedily informed in writing of any decisions or measures affecting them 275. Regarding legal counsel for inmates, article 62.2 f) of Public General Act 4/2000, according to the draft provided by Public General Act 2/2009, stipulates that inmates may communicate confidentially with their lawyers, even outside the centre’s normal operating hours, whenever the urgency of the case so requires. The CIEs in Madrid and Malaga have entered into agreements with the corresponding bar associations for the provision of free legal aid services. Thus, for illustrative purposes, this service at the CIE in Madrid has been available since 15 January 2010, and involves the presence three times a week of lawyers who provide legal advice and answer any queries the inmates might have. It is important to stress that these lawyers do not provide “legal counsel” in the strictest sense, as this befalls the lawyers appointed in the province in which the expulsion or repatriation proceedings are being heard, which might be anywhere in Spain. For those cases involving an appearance before administrative or judicial bodies located in Madrid, an application is submitted and assignment is made of a legal aid lawyer from the duty roster specialising in the appropriate field (e.g., asylum). This line of action is positively evaluated and it would be convenient to extend it to all the other CIEs. Until such a time as the legal advisory service becomes of general application, the information provided by CIEs on the possibility of requesting international protection (asylum and subsidiary protection) is insufficient. Effective distribution should be made of the leaflets the Asylum and Refugee Office (OAR) has issued on this matter in different languages. 276. The interviews held between members of this Institution and inmates have revealed that these people have a general lack of knowledge on their situation in the centre, as well as on the administrative procedure regarding their expulsion or repatriation. It therefore seems necessary to ensure inmates are provided with information on these matters, independently of those actions that may be taken accordingly by the lawyers responsible for their legal counsel, whereby they should be more speedily informed in writing of any decisions or measures affecting them. The practice of searches 277. The practice of searches varies noticeably from one establishment to varies from one another and ranges from a brief frisking to more intrusive searches that include establishment to another. The rules governing such practices need to be substantially improved the full removal of clothing. In order to carry out these searches, police officers wear slash-resistant latex gloves that are not always regulation equipment. Article 62.5, paragraph one, of Public General Act 4/2000, allows people to be searched, although it omits any reference either as to who should order this or to a system of control and communication by the legal authority responsible for the inmate’s 120 THE OMBUDSMAN OF SPAIN