was also placed on the need to establish a centre for the rehabilitation of torture victims in Romania. 351. With regard to article 15 of the Convention, members of the Committee asked whether the provisions of that article were directly applicable in Romania. Inquiries were made about the procedure with regard to evidence. It was asked whether jUdicial decisions had included cases where confessions obtained through torture had been ruled inadmissible. It was also asked at what point the lawyer intervened in the pre-trial proceedings. 352. Concerning article 16 of the Convention, general information was requested on prison administration. 353. In reply to the questions raised by members of the Committee, the representative of Romania provided information on the draft bill on the organization of the judiciary. The legislation being drafted would abolish an instance inherited from the former dictatorship, which still allowed the President of the Republic extraordinary recourse against decisions. The competence of military courts would be restricted to offences by military personnel and against property of the armed forces. Members of the judiciary, currently appointed by the Minister of Justice, would, according to the draft bill, be appointed by the President of the Republic on the advice of the Supreme Council of the Magistrature. Disciplinary matters, currently dealt with by a court of high-level judges, would be a matter for the Magistrature. According to provisions of the new Constitution, jUdges were independent and irremovable. The authority of the Ministry of Justice was basically administrative and it was not entitled to issue instructions to prosecute in a given case. It was the function of the Office of the Public Prosecutor to examine and, if necessary, review the legality of decisions taken by the courts. On the question of amnesty, the representative explained that a decree-law promulgated shortly after the revolution of December 1989 covered, inter alia, persons convicted during the previous regime of genuinely political cri.mes, often disguised by those in authority under other charges. Concerning police officers who had been dismi.ssed, it was stated that measures taken against them had been of an administrative nature, but that some had been tried and sentenced for specific offences. In addition, more than 75 per cent of the previously incumbent regional prosecutors and their deputies had been dismissed and a new system df competitive examinations had been instituted in order to ensure the recruitment of a genuinely independent judiciary. With regard to the organization of the police, a law was currently being drafted. The previous state police, the Securitate, had been abolished and the sole body concerned with state security would be the Information Service. The representative also referred to the important role played by the People's Advocates, responsible for ensuring that the rights of the individual citizen were dUly defended. Concerning actual cases of torture, no statistics were available but some alleged cases were being investigated. 354. With regard to article 3 of the Convention, the representative pointed out that under the Constitution any person had the right of recourse to defend his legitimate rights and interests: there was no express provision, however, on the question of expUlsion. H 355. In connection with article 5 of the Convention, the representative stated that articles 3 to 9 of the Romanian Penal Code contained provisions which if !I ii. ii I. li H n ~ " -65Digitized by Dag Hammarskjöld Library !