CAT/OP/BEN/3 VI. Administration of justice and penal policy A. Objectives of the justice system 68. The criminal justice system of Benin has taken a decisive step with the adoption and entry into force of the new Code of Criminal Procedure, some of the provisions of which still have to be implemented; this process will remain unfinished, however, until — to provide the State party with a comprehensive framework conducive to the proper administration of justice and a vision of its penal policy — the draft Criminal Code is adopted. 69. The Subcommittee invites the State party to initiate broad reflection on the objectives of its criminal justice system in connection with the issues addressed above and to ensure that it has the means necessary to achieve them. B. 1. Legal framework Criminal Code 70. In its previous report, the Subcommittee had recommended that the State party should adopt the draft Criminal Code. The Subcommittee notes the information transmitted to it by the national authorities to the effect that the draft Criminal Code was still in the process of being adopted by the National Assembly. The Subcommittee wonders what the obstacles to its adoption are. 71. The Subcommittee is concerned that the current Criminal Code does not contain a provision defining torture and establishing it as a specific offence. The inclusion of the prohibition on torture in criminal legislation is a safeguard against both torture and impunity, as it allows victims to lodge complaints and the judiciary to make inquiries into and rule on acts defined by the Criminal Code. 72. The Subcommittee welcomes the accession of Benin, on 5 July 2012, to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty. The Subcommittee noted, however, that accession to the Protocol has not been accompanied by the explicit abolition of the death penalty in Beninese criminal law. It emerged from the Subcommittee’s interviews with national authorities and persons sentenced to death that the death sentences previously imposed on 14 prisoners at the Akpro-Missérété prison had not been adjusted as a result of the new situation. 73. The Subcommittee recommends that the Beninese authorities: (a) adopt the draft Criminal Code as soon as possible and raise awareness among judicial officials regarding its implementation; (b) include in the draft Code provisions defining torture and establishing it as a specific offence; (c) abolish the death penalty in its criminal law in order to give full effect to the Second Optional Protocol; and (d) review and reconsider the legal status of persons sentenced to death in view of the State party’s accession to the Protocol. 74. The Subcommittee was struck by the presence in detention of persons of very advanced age (80 years or more) who were serving fairly long sentences, often for acts of witchcraft. In addition, the Subcommittee noted these persons’ great vulnerability. It believes that defining witchcraft and charlatanism as criminal offences may pose a problem when it comes to ruling on the physical evidence of such offences. 75. The Subcommittee also found that people had been taken into custody or sentenced to prison for petty crime or debt. It was informed by various sources that debt was often later classified as breach of trust or fraud to justify its characterization as a criminal offence. 12 GE.18-16165