Chapter 4 Assessment of the work of the Contrôleur général of places of deprivation of liberty in 2015 1. Relations with public authorities and other legal entities 1.1 The institutions of the State As is the case every year, the Contrôleur général of places of deprivation of liberty met the President of the Republic and the Chairpersons of the National Assembly and the Senate to submit her annual report. The Contrôleur général was heard by two committees of inquiry of the Senate, one on the organisation and means of fighting against Jihadist networks in France and Europe, and the other on the assessment and oversight of the creation, organisation, activity and management of independent government agencies. In addition, she was heard by the Judiciary Committee of the Senate three times, once on the bill pertaining to intelligence, once on the credits of the prisons administration programme for the money bill for 2016 and once on the credits of the programme for the protection of rights and liberties for the same finance bill. The Contrôleur général of places of deprivation of liberty also maintained regular contact with the independent government agencies that were involved in spheres of competence complementary to her own. She met the Defender of Rights and his deputy in charge of the code of ethics of security; she spoke with the President of the French independent scientific public authority contributing to regulation of the quality of the health system; she spoke before the full meeting of the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights. As regards the Government and related bodies, the Contrôleur général, in addition to the regular formal and informal relations that she maintains with the Keeper of the Seals, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to whom she presented the actions of the CGLPL in the international domain and the strategy that she intends to develop. In fact, the prevention of torture and inhumane and degrading treatment as well as the respect of the fundamental rights of persons deprived of liberty is, today, a major issue on the international stage. This is why, as there are no normal functional relationships with the diplomatic services, it would be useful to set up information actions for the various posts. She also met with the Secretary of State for digital affairs, as part of preparing the bill for a Digital Republic. On this occasion, she especially highlighted that several persons deprived of liberty, especially patients hospitalised without consent or foreign nationals placed in detention, are deprived of access to digital technology even though no provision imposes such a restraint. She also highlighted that, for detainees, accessing digital technology, which naturally requires supervision, is an essential factor in reintegration. In this respect, since the situation observed in 69