The State party should adopt all necessary measures to ensure the immediate and impartial investigation of any complaints of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and to implement the necessary investigations and sanctions in order to prevent and combat impunity in the face of serious violations of the Convention. The Committee requests the State party to provide detailed statistical data, disaggregated by offence, ethnic origin and sex, in its next periodic report on complaints of acts of torture or ill-treatment allegedly committed by law enforcement officers and on the relevant investigations, the judgements reached and the criminal sentences or disciplinary sanctions imposed in each case. It also requests information on any redress, including rehabilitation or compensation, accorded to the victims. Independent inspection (12) The Committee takes note of the information contained in paragraphs 83 and 86 of the State party’s report, which indicates that both the Office of the Human Rights Procurator and Criminal Enforcement Judges are entitled to inspect detention centres. The Committee is, however, concerned by reports that the inspection of such centres is inadequate and that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have difficulty in obtaining access (art. 2). The Committee urges the State party to ensure that there is an effective system for inspecting detainees’ detention conditions and treatment and, in particular, to extend the mandate of the Procurator for Prisons to include visits to migrant custody centres, military prisons and psychiatric hospitals and to facilitate access by NGOs to such places. The Committee requests that information be provided in the next report on the number of visits made, complaints received from detainees and the outcome thereof. Prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and fundamental guarantees (13) The Committee expresses its concern about the way in which the right to a defence is realized in practice, given that, according to paragraph 34 of the report, most detainees do not have the financial means to pay for a private lawyer and therefore use the services of an officially appointed defender, of whom there seem to be very few, at State expense (arts. 2 and 16). The State party should adopt all necessary measures to guarantee any person deprived of liberty the right to be defended and, consequently, should increase the number and skill level of the country’s public or officially appointed defenders and establish legal mechanisms for appeals against an inadequate defence. The Committee also urges the State party to give priority attention to the cases of detainees without families to care for them, the so-called donados. Administration of justice (14) The Committee notes with concern that the information it has received reveals flaws in the State party’s justice administration system. Some allegations suggest that public bodies within the judicial system lack impartiality and independence, essential qualities for ensuring the effective application of the principle of legality. In particular, there have been allegations of irregularities in the appointment of judges, use of the judicial system for partisan ends and instances of corruption among judges and police officers. Furthermore, the Committee is concerned at delays in the administration of justice, which in some cases have led to preventive detention extending beyond three months and delays in the timely review of the status of detainees (arts. 2 and 13). The State party should take the necessary steps to remedy shortcomings in the administration of justice, in particular by allocating adequate resources and continuing its efforts to combat corruption. It should also take measures to guarantee the full independence of the judiciary in accordance with the relevant international standards and to remedy the shortage of judges. The State party should also establish that the practice of detention must conform to fair trial standards, ensure that time limits established for preventive detention are respected and act in a manner that allows justice to be administered within a reasonable period of time. 109