A/HRC/7/3/Add.6 page 25 (d) Ensure that magistrates routinely ask persons brought from police custody how they have been treated and, even in the absence of a formal complaint from the defendant, order an independent medical examination in accordance with the Istanbul Protocol; (e) Ensure that all allegations of torture and ill-treatment are promptly and thoroughly investigated by an independent authority with no connection to the authority investigating or prosecuting the case against the alleged victim; (f) Ensure all public officials, in particular prison doctors, prison officials and magistrates who have reasons to suspect an act of torture or ill-treatment, to report ex officio to the relevant authorities for proper investigation in accordance with article 12 of the Convention against Torture; (g) Ensure that confessions made by persons in custody without the presence of a lawyer and that are not confirmed before a judge should not be admissible as evidence against the persons who made the confession; (h) The burden of proof should shift to the prosecution to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the confession was not obtained under any kind of duress; (i) Expedite criminal procedures relating to torture cases by, e.g., establishing special courts dealing with torture and ill-treatment by public officials; (j) Allow judges to be able to exercise more discretion in sentencing perpetrators of torture under the 1994 Torture Act; (k) Drastically reduce the period of police custody under the Emergency Regulations and repeal other restrictions of human rights under them; (l) Develop proper mechanisms for the protection of torture victims and witnesses; (m) Ensure that the constitution and activities of the NHRC comply with the Paris Principles, including with respect to annual reporting on the human rights situation and follow-up on past cases of violations; (n) Establish appropriate detention facilities for persons kept in prolonged custody under the Emergency Regulations; (o) Establish an effective and independent complaints system in prisons for torture and abuse leading to criminal investigations; (p) Investigate corporal punishment cases at Bogambara Prison as well as torture allegations against TID, mainly in Boosa, aimed at bringing the perpetrators and their commanders to justice; (q) Design and implement a comprehensive structural reform of the prison system, aimed at reducing the number of detainees, increasing prison capacities and modernizing the prison facilities;