A/HRC/19/61/Add.2 (b) Ensure that legislation concerning evidence presented in judicial proceedings is brought into line with the provisions of article 15 of the Convention against Torture in order to exclude explicitly any evidence or extrajudicial statement obtained under duress, unless the person interrogated affirms the veracity of the statement before a judge, and that persons convicted on the basis of such evidence are acquitted and released; and ensure that any allegation of torture and ill-treatment made in court is promptly dealt with by the judicial authorities without the need for a specific motion by the defence lawyer; (c) Amend the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Law on Procedure and Conditions of the Detention of Persons Suspected or Accused of Crime to include a provision on the right of the suspect to one free telephone call with family members or relatives; and reduce the 12-hour period envisaged for notification of arrest by the investigator to the family stipulated in article 99 of the Code of Criminal Procedure; (d) Amend the Code of Criminal Procedure and other legislative acts (including the law on operational investigations and search activities) with a view to ensure that the time period starting from the moment of actual arrest until the formal initiation of the criminal case is in accordance with international standards, with clear designation of procedural status, rights and safeguards. 2. Safeguards and prevention 81. The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government: (a) Ensure strict adherence to registration from the very moment of apprehension, abolish unacknowledged custodies and ensure strict surveillance devices in police stations; make police station chiefs and investigating and operative officers criminally accountable for any unacknowledged detention and make it a serious crime; define clearly the ability and obligation of judges to inspect places of detention and enforce the prohibition on unacknowledged detention and torture by initiating criminal prosecutions; ensure that access to lawyers of the suspect’s own choosing is granted from the very moment of apprehension; and repeal the recent restrictions on access by lawyers to their defendants requiring multiple authorizations; (b) Overhaul the system of State-appointed lawyers completely and replace it with an open and transparent process of fairly remunerated independent lawyers, a process that is not controlled in practice by the investigating officers; and foresee the establishment of national legal aid programmes that guarantee access to a lawyer for all detainees, including prior to interrogation; (c) Set in legislation a minimum timeline within which medical examination is to be provided without delay, in conformity with the Manual on Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Istanbul Protocol); ensure timely access to independent medical examination at all stages of the criminal process, in particular when the suspect is placed in a temporary police detention facility, when taken out for any investigative activity, and upon return ensure that a forensic examination is conducted on the basis of the victim’s application or his/her lawyer’s motion for forensic service as a matter of law subject to judicial review in the event of delay or refusal, and that reports of independent forensics are attributed the same evidentiary weight as reports prepared by State-appointed forensic experts; and ensure that independent forensic reports are admissible in court upon submission by a defence counsel without any prior approval by an investigator or a State prosecutor to include them in the case file; 19