Section 2 Actions taken in 2013 in response to Opinions, Recommendations and Cases taken up by the Contrôle Général As every year, in 2013, the Contrôleur Général has attempted to gauge the influence of his initiatives on the situation of persons deprived of liberty. From the moment when opinions, recommendations and cases taken up set out difficulties, and sometimes serious difficulties, with regard to respect for fundamental rights, gauging the action taken to address them means preventing the worsening thereof. 1. Responses to Findings and Inspection Reports As in previous years, in 2013 the Contrôleur Général received several ministerial responses to the inspection reports sent. Sixteen responses were received from the minister of Social Affairs, thirty-six from the Interior minister, twenty-three from the minister of Justice, two responses from the minister of National Education and from the Economy and Finance minister. Since its creation, the procedure of the Contrôleur Général des Lieux de Privation de Liberté has become well-known to the administrations and authorities concerned in questions of deprivation of liberty. In the first place, the factual findings are sent to the managers of the institutions and organisations inspected, then an inspection report is elaborated containing recommendations sent to the ministers concerned for responses and observations. Although the time required for the sending of the findings is in general short (a few months), a longer period may be needed for the sending of the inspection report, since the latter requires an initial response from the head of the institution, which then has to be taken into consideration in the text, and finally the elaboration of recommendations by the team of inspectors having taken part in the inspection. The length of this procedure is explained by the will to take observations into account, as well as to make any corrections to the text of the findings if necessary. Publication on the website of the Contrôle Général only takes place, once all of the responses have been received from ministers or when their responses have not been received after a period of more than six months. Certain criticisms have emerged concerning the time, considered to be too long, required for public access to the Contrôleur Général’s reports. In the first place it needs to be noted that the Act of 30th October 2007 does not provide for the public announcement of inspection reports. In this regard, the Act only mentions emergency observations justified by serious violations of fundamental rights. Such public announcement is not compulsory and is only implemented if the Contrôleur Général deems necessary after having received the observations in response from the authorities concerned. Similarly, the public announcement of opinions, recommendations and proposals for legislative and statutory amendments is simply a possibility (article 10). The publication of the Annual Report alone is an obligation incumbent upon the Contrôleur Général des Lieux de Privation de Liberté pursuant to the Act of 30th October 2007. In spite of this absence of obligation, since the 64