Basic principles 75. The proper handling of complaints made by persons deprived of their liberty, irrespective of the place or situation in which they are held and the legal framework applicable to their deprivation of liberty, requires the observance of certain basic principles: availability, accessibility, confidentiality/safety, effectiveness and traceability. The presentation of these principles is mainly based on views expressed by the CPT in its visit reports, in the light of its findings on the ground. It does not aim at establishing an exhaustive set of standards on all aspects of the operation of complaints mechanisms.5 1. Availability 76. It is widely recognised that every person deprived of his or her liberty should be legally entitled to lodge formal complaints with bodies designated for this purpose. It is crucial that both internal and external complaints mechanisms are genuinely available. 77. Other interested parties (such as close relatives and friends) should be able to act on behalf of the person concerned, as a rule with her or his consent and close co-operation. 78. Complaints which do not concern ill-treatment or other serious human rights violations may be dealt with through alternative dispute resolution mechanisms such as mediation, subject to the complainant’s agreement. 2. Accessibility 79. Persons deprived of their liberty should promptly receive information, both orally and in writing, about all avenues of complaint (including appeal procedures), both internal and external to the places in which they are being held. They should also have a clear understanding of the modalities for exercising their right to lodge a complaint. For this purpose, appropriate information tools should be developed (e.g. posters in communal areas, a section on complaints procedures in the establishment’s house rules, information leaflets issued by complaints bodies, information videos) and made available to them, in straightforward, user-friendly and non-legalistic formats. 80. All information provided about avenues of complaint – whether upon arrival in a place of deprivation of liberty or at a later stage – should also be available in a language which persons deprived of their liberty understand. In this context, written information on complaints bodies and procedures should be available in the languages most commonly spoken. 81. In order to facilitate access to external complaints mechanisms, it would be highly desirable that appropriate standard complaints forms be made available. Nevertheless, the fact that a complaint has been lodged on a non-standard form should not prevent it from being examined. 5. For more details about police complaints systems in particular, see also the Opinion of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe concerning independent and effective determination of complaints against the police (CommDH(2009)4). Complaints mechanisms ► Page 27