Systemic problems The problem of the lack of procedures in case of reporting torture and inadequate method for documenting injuries The plea made by the Mechanism in annual reports for 2016 and 2017 concerning the need for the Prison Service to adopt procedures specifying the method of conduct in case a prisoner reports being a victim of torture or violence or when there is a suspicion that torture or violence was used against him/her still remains valid. Prison personnel, including medical staff, do not have any procedures in place in that regard. Injuries are often documented in a superficial fashion and medical staff lacks sufficient knowledge about the provisions of the Istanbul Protocol. The Istanbul Protocol, which acts as a manual for effective investigation and documentation of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, is an official UN document drawn up by a group of experts and comprising practical information about the methods of torture, their consequences, ways of identifying them for the purpose of criminal proceedings and conducting effective investigations concerning torture. Its application is recommended by the UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT)91. Medical examination of all persons admitted to prisons as well as proper documentation of injuries determined during such an examination constitutes a significant guarantee of protection against torture and elimination of impunity. It also protects prison personnel from false allegations that injuries were sustained during one’s stay in the penitentiary establishment. Cf.: Report of the SPT visit to Peru in 2013, CAT/OP/PER/1, Art. 20; Report from the SPT visit to Ukraine in 2011, CAT/OP/UKR/1, Art. 46-48; Report from the SPT visit to Brazil in 2011, CAT/OP/BRA/1, Art. 38-39. 91 Report of the Commissioner for Human Rights on the activities of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture in Poland in 2018 57