Chapter 4 Action taken in 2017 in response to the cases referred to the Contrôleur général In accordance with the prevention mission delegated to the Contrôleur général des lieux de privation de liberté, processing case referrals helps to identify violations of the fundamental rights of people deprived of liberty, and to prevent their recurrence. With this in mind, the inspectors in charge of the referrals conduct verifications of documents and ask for observations from the authorities responsible for the facility in question – pursuant to the adversarial principle. They also conduct on-site verifications where applicable. The reports written following these inspections also go through the due adversarial procedure with the authorities responsible. The high number of referrals received by the CGLPL through the year (more than 3,600) bring to light, over and above isolated cases, failings and violations of the rights of people deprived of liberty that go beyond an institution or region and call for nationwide responses. Although most of the investigations undertaken by the CGLPL concern institutions in particular, several inquiries are submitted every year to the Ministers of Justice, the Interior and Health, or some of their directorates, not least the prison administration department. These are an opportunity to note down the questions raised in the referrals made by various institutions and to cross-link the information contained in these referrals with the findings made during institutional inspections. The recommendations issued following the discussions held in light of the referrals are aimed at safeguarding the right balance between respect for the fundamental rights of prisoners and the public order and security requirements that places of deprivation of liberty must naturally fulfil. The priority for the Chief Inspector in this instance, in the same way as during inspection missions, is to initiate a dialogue aimed at improving institutional practices and thinking on the way in which people deprived of liberty are treated – the aim being to improve respect of their fundamental rights. 1. The CGLPL's efforts promote respect for the rights of people deprived of liberty: examples of local referrals Below you will find a selection of investigations conducted by post, aimed at showing how the CGLPL carries out its mission aimed at checking the extent to which fundamental rights are respected in practice in places of deprivation of liberty and at improving this in a very tangible way. Special attention has been paid to referrals concerning work and vocational training in prisons, following the opinion published on this subject in February 2017. 1.1 Involuntary patients and their access to the right to vote One sectioned patient (committed for psychiatric care involuntarily) has brought to the Chief Inspector's attention the decision issued on his case on the part of the judge supervising guardianship, indicating that "since his condition does not exclude a certain lucidity when it comes to elections, his right to vote should be maintained". Mindful of the access detained people have to the right to vote, the Chief Inspector contacted the hospital director to find out whether the institution had taken 77