E/CN.4/1989/15 page 34 arrested for terrorist acts, espionage or drug-trafficking, in which case he may be held without charge for a period of 15 days. The provisions on habeas corpus and amparo (enforcement of constitutional rights) procedures, however, remain in force under emergency law, at least with reference to those rights which have not been suspended. This was confirmed by the President of the Supreme Court. Since torture comes under the provisions on habeas corpus, the habeas corpus procedure can function as a highly effective instrument to prevent torture. 173. According to the same article 231, the armed forces assume control of internal order when the President of the Republic so decides. Under the previous administration, Act No. 24.150 legalized the practice of placing areas under a state of emergency almost exclusively under the authority of a "political-military command". This Act, like the previous practice, has led to controversies about its constitutionality, since the politico-military command replaces the civilian authorities also in fields not confined to internal order. In 1987, the present Government announced its intention to repeal Act No. 24.150 and to replace it with a statute providing for a much greater role for the civilian authorities in areas under emergency law. The Government, however, did not carry out that plan and an initiative taken by the opposition in the Senate to repeal the law was blocked in the Senate Committee. 17 4. The legal regime established by Act No. 24.150 is of paramount importance, since nearly all information on torture received by the Special Rapporteur since 1985 (the year his mandate was established) has dealt with alleged torture practices in the areas under emergency law. It was reported that thousands of people had disappeared (in a report to the Human Rights Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, submitted in August 1987 by the Fiscal de la Nacion (Attorney-General), the total given was 2,417), some of whom were presumably abducted by the security forces. It was further reported that many of those people were held temporarily in military camps and barracks where they were interrogated. During those interrogations, they were reportedly often tortured and afterwards either released or killed. Many allegations referred to the finding of dead bodies with marks of torture (see also the report of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, E/CN.4/1987/15/Add.l). 175. Whenever human rights are violated, the victim or his relatives can lodge a complaint with the office of the Fiscal de la Nacion, who is the Head of the Ministerio Publico. According to article 250 of the Constitution, the Ministerio Publico is an independent and autonomous institution. Its main functions are, on the one hand, the promotion and defence of the rule of law and the rights of citizens, and on the other, the supervision of criminal investigations and the initiation of criminal proceedings. The officials of the Ministerio Publico, therefore, are simultaneously ombudsmen and public procecutors. Within the Ministerio Publico a Human Rights Office is established, an administrative body which, through the collection of reports on alleged human rights violations, enables the Fiscal de la Nacion to carry out the first function. The Ministerio Publico investigates reports about human rights violations and has, for example, solved 205 cases of disappearances. According to a press release of 12 July 1988, it also deals with allegations of torture. The representative of the Fiscal de la Nacion in Ayacucho told the Special Rapporteur that he had looked into 348 reported cases of torture in 1987 alone. Only in relatively few cases, however, had he