A/HRC/25/60/Add.1 Legal Aid Scheme Act, 1997 (Act 542), provides legal assistance as a right only to persons charged with capital offences punishable by death or a life sentence. The scheme is not comprehensive enough to cover all criminal offences, so the vast majority of defendants have no access to legal representation. 27. The legal aid system in Ghana is severely underfunded and understaffed: there are only 15 public defenders. In 2012, out of 7,925 cases where legal aid services were provided, only 1,000 were criminal cases. In practice, appointed counsel often fail to appear for remand dates or trials as they are not adequately compensated. Despite the fact that the Bar Association of Ghana mandates the provision of pro bono services as a professional duty, only a few lawyers take on such cases on a regular basis when requested. 28. In 2011, the legal aid scheme identified 1,150 persons in custody with lapsed court warrants, who were subsequently released by the High Court. But there are thousands of inmates who languish in prison, either in remand detention for years or serving lengthy sentences; all are at risk of being subjected to inhumane conditions owing to a lack of legal safeguards. In the words of one prisoner “unless you have money to appeal then you stay in.”4 Confession statements 29. While suspects appear to be informed by the arresting or interrogation officer about their right to a lawyer, if a suspect cannot afford to pay for a lawyer or the offence is not serious enough for him to be provided with a legal aid lawyer, the police can proceed to the interrogation stage. 30. Section 120, paragraph 2 of the Evidence Act, 1975 (NRCD 323), regulates the taking of evidence in legal proceedings and renders inadmissible as evidence statements made in the absence of “an independent witness (other than a police officer or member of the Armed Forces) approved by the accused.” A witness can be a relative, friend or third party who attests that they were present during the taking of the statement and that it was not made under duress. However, the regulation does not refer explicitly to torture or duress and thus the accused are at risk of making a coerced confession during interrogation, especially as the vast majority of defendants lack any legal representation. 31. The representative of the Office of the Attorney-General stated that there must be other corroborating evidence and that a confession alone is not used to secure a conviction, but the Special Rapporteur has not received statistics on the application of the Evidence Act, or information as to whether any officials have been prosecuted and punished for extracting a confession under torture, or if there have been cases where the courts exclude confessions obtained under torture as evidence.5 Complaint procedure 32. The Director of the Police Service acknowledged that, as in every country, there may be individual police officers who abuse the rights of suspects. The Police Intelligence and Professional Standards Bureau monitors police conduct but its reports are not made public. Upon receiving a complaint, an investigation is conducted and recommendations made to the Inspector-General of Police. If an officer is found guilty, disciplinary action may be recommended. In serious cases, the police officer involved is referred to the Criminal Investigation Department, which can institute criminal proceedings. 4 5 Ibid. See article 15 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. 7