ESSEX PAPER 3: INITIAL GUIDANCE ON THE INTERPRETATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UN NELSON MANDELA RULES The term ‘promptly’ in Rule 119(1) requires that information be given as soon as the person concerned is formally charged with a criminal offence under domestic law or is publicly named as such. Any delay of notification must be exceptional and kept to the absolute minimum necessary.82 Given that information needs to be provided ‘immediately upon arrest’,83 this obligation will usually have to be met before a person is admitted to a detention facility. For example, if a person is arrested by police and transferred to a pre-trial detention facility, he/she must have been notified about the charges before arriving. Exceptions might arise where an interpreter has to be found or where additional charges are brought against a person who is already detained. The role of the prison authority should therefore be to verify whether information about charges was provided, and to assist detainees in obtaining relevant information. To do this, they will need to liaise with other relevant authorities. The Essex group held that the prison administration would be informed about the charges at least in a general way by the commitment order, without which prisoners should not be received in a prison (see Rule 7). Requirement of valid commitment order The Essex group noted the prison administration’s obligation to verify the existence of a valid ‘commitment order’ upon admission of a prisoner is enshrined in Rule 7. The experts advised that such an order, at the very minimum, must include the date, time and place of arrest, the name of the person and authority ordering the commitment and any other relevant information (see Rule 7(b)). Commitment orders must be issued and signed by a judicial authority or another competent agency. The UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) has noted, for example, that ‘the absence of copies of warrants of committal makes it impossible to monitor any extensions of pre-trial detention’.84 Any commitment order lacking the required information should be automatically considered invalid. The group noted that, when a commitment order expires, prison authorities bear a responsibility to either release the prisoner without delay, or – where the legal framework does not allow them to do so – to contact the responsible court or authority immediately, ideally ahead of the foreseeable expiration of the commitment order. Information provided in detention Rules 54 and 55 address both the content of information provided to prisoners and the manner in which it should be imparted. The Essex group emphasised that it is in the vital interest of prison administrations and staff for prisoners to understand the prison rules and procedures and their rights and obligations. The participants considered the terminology ‘authorized methods of seeking information’ in Article 54(b), and cautioned that this should not be interpreted in a way that results in the denial of information about prisoners’ rights. They also noted that ‘applicable prison regulations’ in Rule General Comment No. 35, CCPR/C/GC/R.35/Rev.3, para 25. 82  General Comment No. 35, CCPR/C/GC/35, para 27. 83  Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Report on the visit of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment to Mali, 20 March 2014, CAT/OP/MLI/1, para. 78 (SPT Report on visit to Mali). 84  Penal Reform International and the Essex Human Rights Centre | 27