5.3 The Possibility of Engaging in Correspondence in a Confidential Manner, Progress Still to Be Confirmed Without waiting for the Prisons Act to be voted, in his Opinion of 21st of October 2009 “concerning the exercise of the right to correspondence by prisoners”140, the Contrôleur Général had noted a certain number of practices contrary to the private character of letters written and received by prisoners and had issued recommendations for the protection of this confidentiality. Article 40 of the Prisons Act consolidates and specifies the right to engage in correspondence: “Convicted prisoners and, subject to the absence of opposition thereto on the part of the court, remand prisoners, can engage in written correspondence with any person of their choice. (…) Correspondence exchanged between prisoners and their defence counsel, French and international administrative and judicial authorities, of which the list is fixed by decree (décret), and the officially authorised chaplains for the institution, can be neither controlled nor withheld. When the prisons Administration decides to withhold a prisoner’s letters, it notifies the latter of its decision141”. The Contrôleur Général has continually ascertained problems of operation in this field since 2010. In order to ensure better organisation of the free flow and confidentiality of correspondence in future, including within prisons, the Contrôleur Général continues to recommend several measures142 and stresses the following in particular: - making distinct letterboxes available in accessible places: for internal letters (applications, SPIP), for external letters, for letters to healthcare workers; - taking into account of the importance attached by prisoners to applications made by putting in place computerised processing of these applications. Finally the Contrôleur Général takes up the request set out on 4th July 2012 by the Senators who drafted the aforementioned report, that is to say that the prisons Administration should keep a record of correspondence withheld. At the time of visits the inspectors have been led to note that the computerised processing of applications was progressing, although the weight of habit as well as the difficulty experienced by a part of the prison population in using the computerised terminals, led to continuing widespread use of paper media. In addition, the “response” made to these applications is often simple notification that they have been registered, but not real handling thereof, something which the Contrôle Général considers regrettable. Differentiation of letter boxes according to the addressee is unquestionably a practice that is growing within situations. 5.4 The Right to Telephone, changes remain possible Article 39 of the Prisons Act devotes six lines143 to this right. 140 Journal Officiel of 28th October 2009. “Within 3 days at the latest” article 57-8-19, Code of Criminal Procedure. 142 See the CGLPL Opinion of 21st October 2009 on this issue as well as the responses of the Ministry of Justice. 141 104