Clarification is called for in accordance with the letter of article 41 of the Prisons Act by means of a circular. Pursuant to this article, any person who wishes to use a prisoner’s image shall compulsorily obtain their consent, including when this image was not taken in prison, as long as identification of the prisoner is possible. 5.6 The Confidentiality of Personal Documents Remains Unsatisfactory Although article 42 of the Prisons Act thus establishes this right to confidentiality: “All prisoners are entitled to the confidentiality of their personal documents. These documents may be entrusted to the registry of the institution which places them at the disposal of the person concerned. Documents mentioning the grounds for the committal of prisoners are compulsorily handed over to the registry on their arrival”, through his inspections of institutions the Contrôleur Général ascertained the frequent absence of effectiveness of this right. He was also led to issue an Opinion on 13th June 2013 “concerning the possession of personal documents by prisoners and their access to documents that can be made available for discovery and inspection”149 . This Opinion of 2013 recommends that, subject to the strictly necessary controls, on the one hand, care should be taken to ensure better respect of the personal character of documents by providing prisoners all of the means, and practical means in particular, to protect the confidentiality thereof150; and, on the other hand, to take care to truly guarantee free access to the consultation and reproduction of administrative documents as well as the whole of the applicable rules which govern daily life in prison. More generally, the Contrôleur Général recommends an amendment of article 42 of the Prisons Act mentioned above as well as the abrogation of paragraph 2 of article 19-V of the model rules and regulations for prisons. 5.7 Mothers in Prison Article 38151 of the law provides a succinct response to the delicate question of the quality of the close relationship between imprisoned mothers and their children. For his part, the Contrôleur Général published an Opinion at 8th August 2013, “concerning young children in prison and their imprisoned mothers”152, including in fine three proposals: granting reduced sentencing; allowing the benefit of deferment of sentences for maternity; access to release on parole. 6. Access to Inter Partes Procedures and Remedies: Progress to be confirmed At the time of their visits conducted after the Act, the inspectors noted that there were sometimes difficulties with regard to the principles of inter partes procedures and the effectiveness of means of remedy, in particular with regard to disciplinary proceedings and solitary 149 See the Journal Officiel, 11th July 2013; the Opinion can be consulted on the cglpl.fr website. E.g.: “all cells should be equipped with a number of small metal lockers corresponding to the number of occupants, locking with a key or a padlock placed at the prisoner’s disposal”. 150 151 “A convention between the prison and the French department defines the social support provided for mothers imprisoned with their children and provides for a scheme enabling children to go outside of the institution on a regular basis in order to enable their socialisation". 152 See Journal Officiel of 3rd September 2013. 106