A/HRC/7/3/Add.6 page 16 Perpetrators Unit (PTP), established pursuant to the recommendations of the United Nations Committee against Torture, monitors the work of the SIU and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), and is also in charge of investigation of torture cases. The Attorney General’s Department decides on the indictment of alleged offenders on the basis of files submitted by the SIU and PTP. 51. The Special Rapporteur is encouraged by the significant number of indictments, 34, made by the Attorney General. While appreciating that the conviction of offenders is entirely a matter for the courts, before which evidence must be led and prosecutions carried out according to law, he regrets that the indictments by the Attorney General have lead so far only to three convictions. He notes that eight cases were concluded with acquittals. Further, the Special Rapporteur is concerned about the long duration of investigation with regard to these cases of often more than two years and allegations of threats against complainants and torture victims. 52. The Attorney General’s powers have so far not been used to prosecute any officer for torture above the rank of inspector of police and no indictment was filed on the basis of command responsibility.13 53. Victims of torture or ill-treatment may also file a criminal action before a Magistrate’s Court against an alleged torturer for “voluntarily causing hurt” under article 136 (1) (a) of CCP, provided that the police have not filed an action under articles 122 (1), (2), 124, and 137 CCP. 54. Torture victims may also submit a complaint to the Supreme Court for a violation of article 11 of the Constitution within 30 days of the infringement in order to be awarded compensation. 55. In general, the Special Rapporteur notes with concern the absence of an effective ex officio investigation mechanism in accordance with article 12 of the Convention against Torture. National Police Commission 56. The National Police Commission, created by the 17th amendment of the Constitution under article 155 (a) in 2001, then appointed in 2002, is in charge of disciplinary control over all officers except the Inspector General (art. 155, G (1) (a)) and has also the duty to establish a public complaints procedure (art. 155, G (2)14). However, this procedure has been established only in January 2007 and therefore no conclusions can be drawn yet with regard to its implementation in practice.15 13 The Government reported that Sri Lanka’s case law clearly indicates that, for criminal liability to attach to someone, there must be criminal intent (mens rea) and a clear nexus with the criminal act. 14 It “shall establish procedures to entertain and investigate public complaints and complaints from any aggrieved person made against a police officer or the police service”. 15 Before this date, the NPC, in practice, delegated the investigations leading to possible disciplinary action against any offending officer to the police.