CAT/OP/TGO/1 107. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party implement a modernization and sanitation programme in cells or sections for minors, in accordance with international standards. IV. Legal framework and administration of justice Definition of torture 108. The Subcommittee continues to be concerned about the fact that, more than 25 years after its ratification of the Convention against Torture, the State party has not yet adopted a criminal provision that explicitly defines torture as a separate offence. The Subcommittee notes with concern that at the time of its visit, the new Criminal Code and the new Code of Criminal Procedure had not yet been adopted, and that the lack of punishments commensurate with the gravity of the crime of torture continued to encourage impunity. 109. The Subcommittee reiterates the numerous recommendations made by the Committee against Torture in 2006 and 2012 (CAT/C/TGO/CO/1 and CAT/C/TGO/CO/2, respectively) and by the Special Rapporteur on torture in 2007 (A/HRC/7/3/Add.5), according to which the definition of torture and its classification as a crime must be considered a priority and must not be further postponed. The Subcommittee calls on the State party to expedite the process of legislative reform and to take the necessary measures to promulgate and adopt the new Criminal Code and the new Code of Criminal Procedure as soon as possible in order to remedy the current legal vacuum that encourages impunity. Pretrial detention 110. The Subcommittee noted that more than two thirds of the prison population of Togo were defendants or accused persons. As has already been observed, excessive recourse to pretrial detention and the absence of alternative measures was one of the causes for extreme prison overcrowding. 111. The Subcommittee found that the slowness of the courts was also contributing to the disintegration of the prison system. For instance, the Subcommittee had noted situations in which accused persons spent several months in prison awaiting a hearing, during which time they were subjected to appalling conditions of detention that amounted to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. This was attributable to the insufficient number of judges and the lengthy postponements of hearings, the deferral of court rulings and, ultimately, the denial of the right to a prompt and fair trial. 3 112. The Subcommittee was concerned at the delay in the adoption of the new Code of Criminal Procedure, which provided for, inter alia, the appointment of liberty and detention judges, who would make decisions about the imposition of pretrial detention for an accused person, and about any later requests for release. 113. The Subcommittee was also concerned to find that persons awaiting judgment were not kept separate from convicted prisoners in any of the prisons visited and that all were subject to the same regime, thus raising questions about the principle of the presumption of innocence. 114. The Subcommittee recommends finalizing the reform of the criminal justice system and adopting alternatives to imprisonment, in line with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (Tokyo Rules) and establishing a liberties and detention judge. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party expedite cases of persons held in pretrial detention, and that it recruit and train additional judges with a view to reducing the excessive length of pretrial detention. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party ensure that different categories of detainee are held separately, in compliance with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. 3 GE.17-06858 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 14. 15