since no reply on the case had been given by the Libyan authorities, information was requested in that regard. 192. In respect of article 13 of the Convention, members of the Committee wished to know who the parties were who could bring allegations of torture, whether injured parties could request the Attorney General to initiate criminal proceedings and, in case of refusal, whether there was any alternative remedy. Statistics on the number of complaints actually made were also requested. 193. As for article 14 of the Convention, members of the Committee wished to know whether it was necessary to await a verdict before a claim for compensation could be filed, whether the State assumed responsibility for compensation in the case of a public official guilty of torture who was unable to pay and what the competence was of administrative courts in matters relating to compensation. It was also asked whether the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya supported the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture and intended to set up special medical centres to treat victims of torture. 194. In connection with article 16 of the Convention, members of the Committee wished to know how the death sentence was imposed, whether executions were public, whether there were statistics on how many persons had been sentenced to death and how many sentences had been carried out. They noted that economic crimes were punishable by death under the Libyan Penal Code and they observed that such a penalty seemed to be out of proportion to the nature of the crime. 195. In his reply, the representative of the State party provided detailed information on the structure and functioning of the judiciary in his country. He stated, in particular, that the Libyan judicial system was based on the principle of accusation and defence and that members of the Department of Public Prosecutions were selected during the People’s Congress. Judges were appointed by the General People’s Committee and could be sanctioned or revoked for violation of the rules governing their functions, or for incapacity in general, following an investigation and on the decision of the Ministry of Justice. The Supreme Court could hear motions for annulment or appeals against judgements handed down in the civil, criminal or administrative courts. It also played the role of a constitutional court and had the power to annul laws if they were found to be unconstitutional. Furthermore, the representative explained that preliminary investigations were carried out by a legally qualified official of the Department of Public Prosecutions. The record of the investigation was then transmitted to the Attorney General. Bodies responsible for legal proceedings were independent of those that handed down judgements. Under the law, any person who had been charged could be assisted by a lawyer; the court itself designated a lawyer where necessary. The representative also pointed out that the People’s Court was competent to hear appeals against measures or decisions prejudicial to the freedom and basic rights of citizens and its competence was quite different from that of the civil, criminal and administrative courts. Islamic courts heard only cases connected with civil status, marriage, divorce, the custody of children etc. Amnesty, both general and individual, removed the criminal taint of the offence committed and expunged the punishment. If a person had committed a large number of offences, only those listed in the amnesty order were pardoned. An individual amnesty was granted in respect of either a specific crime or a particular person. 196. Referring to article 2 of the Convention, the representative provided information on the conditions of police custody and stated that police custody could not exceed 24 hours from the time of arrest. In the case of particularly serious crimes, the investigation was conducted in secret. In such cases the accused was entitled to the services of a lawyer; if he lacked the necessary measures, the State had to assign one to him. The accused had the right to -34-