A/HRC/25/60/Add.1 authority of the prison staff. 2 The Government acknowledged the presence of “black coats” and cited prison standing order No. 460, which designates prisoners who have shown good conduct and steady progress, in a special class known as “star class”. The Government claims that these prisoners are not given special powers or allowed to exercise disciplinary functions. 21. According to the Government, in 2012 there were 94 deaths in custody, all from natural causes, as a result of malaria, tuberculosis or HIV (no cases of murder, accidental death or suicide were recorded). When a death in custody occurs, it is reported to the police and a coroner (who is also a magistrate) orders an autopsy, which is carried out by doctors under the Ministry of Justice. B. Safeguards and prevention 22. In the police stations visited, the Special Rapporteur observed case files piled up on the desks of the chiefs of police, without an effective tracking and filing system. In fact, many inmates’ case files are simply lost or overlooked.3 23. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the “Justice for All” programme, the project to review the remand system, which was established in October 2007 and is overseen jointly by the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney-General. The project established special courts in the prisons to try to reduce lengthy delays in the criminal justice system by reviewing the backlog of remand cases, including expired warrants. Over the past four years, 350 remand cases have been reviewed and, according to the Government, the number of prisoners with expired warrants has been reduced from 1,872 to 763 as of December 2013. In 2012, seven special court sittings were held at Nsawam prison, as a result of which 59 remand prisoners were released, 62 granted bail and 27 refused bail. Another programme to try and relieve the burden on the judiciary and speed up the trial process is the establishment of paralegal units at the headquarters of the Prisons Service and at all central prisons to review the backlog of pending cases and identify cases which can be dismissed, proceed to trial, or go to appeal. The Government hopes to receive support to establish a paralegal unit in the Nsawam prison in the future. Access to a lawyer 24. Section 10, paragraph 1, of the Criminal Procedure Code grants police officers broad powers of arrest without a warrant, including on “reasonable suspicion” that an offence has been or is about to be committed. 25. Article 14, paragraph 2, of the Constitution states that a person shall be informed immediately, in a language he understands, of the reasons for his arrest, restriction or detention, and of the right to a lawyer of his choice. A person also has the right to inform a family member of his arrest and the location of his detention and a right to appear before a magistrate within 48 hours of arrest. Despite these legal safeguards, the Special Rapporteur is concerned that the police do not always bring suspects before a magistrate, as prescribed by law, but deliver suspects directly into custody. 26. A fundamental safeguard against torture and ill-treatment is the right of access to a lawyer at all stages of the investigation process and particularly from the moment of apprehension. Article 14, paragraph 2, of the Constitution provides for that right; however, it is not effectively exercised by indigents who cannot afford a lawyer and this vulnerable group of people comprises the vast majority of those in the criminal justice system. The 2 3 6 See also Amnesty International, “Prisoners are bottom of the pile: the human rights of inmates in Ghana”, 2012, p. 27. Ibid, p. 14.