United Nations Human Rights Website - Treaty Bodies Database - Document - Sessional/Annual Report of Committee - without result. 3.3 It is stated that the same matter has not been submitted to any other procedure of international investigation or settlement. State party's observations on the admissibility of the communication 4.1 By its submission of 17 September 1996, the State party argues that the communication is inadmissible because of non-exhaustion of domestic remedies. 4.2 The State party submits that acts of violence against persons are criminal offences under article 309 of the Penal Code, and under article 186 if the violence is committed by a public officer. 4.3 The State party explains that according to article 85 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, anyone who considers himself injured by a crime may file a complaint as a civil party before the competent magistrate. Articles 86, 87, 177, 178 and 179 lay down the procedure to follow. When a complaint is received, the magistrate informs the public prosecutor. The prosecutor can request the magistrate to hear the complaining party, if the complaint does not contain enough information to base the indictments on. If the magistrate considers that the facts disclose no criminal offence or cannot lead to a prosecution, or that the complaint is inadmissible, he produces a reasoned decision, which can be appealed by the interested parties, to the Court (Chambre d'accusation). A decision by the magistrate to dismiss a complaint is also appealable. The State party submits that the procedure is effective and must be exhausted before a complaint can be submitted to the Committee against Torture. 4.4 In fact, the authors made use of the procedure and lodged complaints with the Dean of Magistrates in Papeete. Subsequently, the public prosecutor, on 10 October, 29 November and 15 December 1995 and 28 March 1996, requested the opening of legal proceedings on an unspecified number of counts of violence committed by public agents, invoking articles 309, 186 and 198 of the former Criminal Code. The four requests were given to the Dean of Magistrates under one file number, 5070. 4.5 The investigating magistrate ordered medical examinations of the claimants. The medical examiner filed his reports on 3 January and 22 May 1996. According to the reports, three unionists, Messrs. Taaviri, Tetaria and Tematahotoa, showed after-effects of injuries. Upon request of the authors' counsel, a psychiatric examination of 10 of the claimants was ordered on 10 June 1996, to evaluate the psychological consequences of the treatment they claim to have been subjected to. 4.6 On 19 October 1995, the investigating magistrate ordered a commission of inquiry to interview the officers in charge of apprehending the A TI'A I MUA members on 9 September. It appears from the commission's report that the police officers interviewed contest the violent acts alleged by the complainants, although they recognize that their intervention was firm because of the tense situation. 4.7 On 7 March 1996, pictures of the police officers who had participated in the intervention were given to the complainants for identification purposes. According to the State party, the complainants had difficulty in formally identifying the perpetrators of the violence of which they complain. http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/de75e94f920bd0a0802565a600537744?Opendocument (105 of 109)16/10/2006 9:54:12 AM