CAT/C/42/2 page 34 health of the complainant, a court acquittal of accused officers should never be taken as an indication that the allegations were false, only that the evidence was not sufficient to lead to conviction. 18. In the prevention of torture the Istanbul Protocol can be an important tool provided that it is contextualized to the daily activities of doctors working in places of risk, first of all those doctors who work in institutions where detainees are held during the first phase of the criminal investigation. 19. The United Nations Principle 24 of the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment of 1988 states that “a proper medical examination shall be offered to a detainee or imprisoned person as promptly as possible after his admission to the place of detention”. 20. In many countries this principle is implemented. This routine medical examination should: • Be carried out according to a format • The format should include all the items below and should be filled in by the doctor with the consent of the detainee • A medical history • Allegations of exposure to recent violence and ill-treatment by the police or other persons • A description of present health/subjective symptoms at the time of examination; and • A thorough medical examination with an inspection of the whole surface of the body • On the basis of this the doctor should assess whether alleged torture/severe ill-treatment could have happened 21. In the examination and the assessment of the possibility of exposure to torture/severe ill-treatment the medical doctor should have a proactive attitude. 22. The medical doctor working in police and detention facilities has a key role and should have training in the principles of documenting and reporting torture and ill-treatment. 23. There should be clear lines of command on when, how and to whom he should report cases of alleged torture and ill-treatment. The first step in the doctor’s reporting should be to send a copy of the report to his superior - with the consent of the detainee. 24. If no consent from the detainee exists, the doctor should take out any information that could identify the detainee and report to a central register, cited below. 25. The superior should decide - together with the general prosecutor - whether there are grounds for a disciplinary inquiry or a criminal investigation by independent bodies.