CAT/OP/MEX/1/Add.2 3. Preventive custody 38. As a consequence of the amendments to articles 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22 of the Constitution under the reform of 18 June 2008, the criminal justice system has undergone a radical transformation given that the changes introduced were of such magnitude as to have a direct impact on the structure, budget and organization of the judiciary of the Federation. 39. The Council of the Federal Judiciary, under the powers vested in it by the Federal Constitution and the Federal Judiciary Organization Act, accordingly took the first step towards implementing the reform by establishing, under General Decisions Nos. 75/2008 and 25/2009, seven federal criminal courts having special jurisdiction in matters relating to searches, preventive custody and interception of communications, whose competence is restricted to hearing and ruling on applications filed by the authority for the adoption of precautionary measures or other investigative procedures which are subject to judicial control, without prejudice to the gradual widening of its powers in accordance with its sphere of competence as laid down in the Constitution and secondary legislation. 40. In its first report, the Mexican Government provided the Subcommittee with extensive details concerning the extent of the practice of preventive custody and related controls. Preventive custody is a precautionary procedure in criminal matters which is intended to ensure the effectiveness of justice administration and is requested at the investigation stage to prevent persons accused of an offence from evading justice. Because of its material consequences and its restrictions on freedom of movement and personal liberty, preventive custody is an exceptional measure whose application is limited to specific cases whose characteristics require that it be used to safeguard values which are of utmost public interest. 41. Mexico’s criminal justice system has incorporated in its laws and procedures the due process requirements laid down in international human rights law, with preventive custody being retained as an exceptional measure restricted by the Constitution and applicable legislation. 42. Preventive custody in Mexico is thus a constitutional measure which is employed in exceptional cases and is at all times subject to judicial control. A prerequisite for its implementation is the guarantee that persons held in preventive custody may at any time communicate with their defence counsel and relatives and that such custody will take place at premises previously and expressly designed for that purpose. 43. It is accordingly asserted that preventive custody under Mexico’s substantive law is a judicial practice of a precautionary and temporary nature which may not be prolonged indefinitely and which is applicable in cases involving serious offences or organized crime provided that such a measure is necessary for the success of the investigation, the protection of persons or the safeguarding of legal rights or where there is a well-founded risk that the person charged may evade justice. 44. It is a procedure of limited and strict application which is adopted if the federal prosecutor is unable to conduct an organized crime investigation within 48 hours of arrest (or 96 hours in cases involving serious offences, where this time limit is doubled) and is carried out for the purpose of obtaining evidence in order to ensure the successful outcome of an investigation. 45. Under the terms of the Constitution, the duration of preventive custody may not exceed 40 days in cases involving serious offences, although this period may be extended in cases involving organized crime if the prosecuting authority demonstrates that the reasons which gave rise to the measure still exist, in which event the total duration of such custody may not exceed 80 days. GE.13-41196 (EXT) 23