CAT/C/20/D/59/1996 page 10 - With regard to the value of the victim's testimony considering the lack of objective evidence, reference was made to the case law of the Supreme Court, according to which account should be taken of the absence of reasonable doubt, verisimilitude corroborated by circumstantial evidence, and consistency in the charges. Furthermore, in the course of the police raid on 29 January 1992 many detainees complained of ill-treatment to the forensic physician and the examining magistrate. The complainant therefore called for statements to be taken from the person with whom she had shared a cell while in detention, as well as from the officers on guard. 7.7 On 5 September 1995 the Provincial High Court dismissed the appeal. On 28 September 1995 the author made an application for amparo to the Constitutional Court as she considered that the Provincial High Court's decision violated articles 15 (right to physical and moral integrity) and 24 (right to the protection of the courts) of the Constitution, the latter on the ground of failure to allow the submission of evidence proposed by the author, namely, a statement by the prison doctor who noted the injuries and statements by the members of the Guardia Civil responsible for custody. 7.8 On 29 January 1996 the Constitutional Court rejected the application for amparo, holding that “the right to bring an action at law does not in turn imply an absolute right to the institution and full conduct of a criminal proceeding, but entails only the right to a reasoned judicial decision on the claims made, which may well be to stay or dismiss the proceedings or, indeed, to declare the complaint inadmissible”. Examination of the merits 8.1 The Committee has considered the communication in the light of all the information made available to it by the parties, in accordance with article 22, paragraph 4, of the Convention. 8.2 The Committee observes that, under article 12 of the Convention, the authorities have the obligation to proceed to an investigation ex officio, wherever there are reasonable grounds to believe that acts of torture or ill-treatment have been committed and whatever the origin of the suspicion. Article 12 also requires that the investigation should be prompt and impartial. The Committee observes that promptness is essential both to ensure that the victim cannot continue to be subjected to such acts and also because in general, unless the methods employed have permanent or serious effects, the physical traces of torture, and especially of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, soon disappear. 8.3 The Committee observes that when she appeared before the National High Court on 2 February 1992, after having been held incommunicado since 29 January, the author stated that she had been subjected to physical and mental ill-treatment, including the threat of rape. The Court had before it five reports of the forensic physician attached to the National High Court who had examined her daily, the first four examinations having taken place on Guardia Civil premises and the last on the premises of the National High Court prior to the above-mentioned court appearance. These reports note that the