Recommendations (E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.3) Situation during visit (See: E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.3) Plea bargain agreements entered into by accused persons are without prejudice to criminal proceedings they may institute against allegations of torture and other illtreatment (d) Forensic services were part of the police/penitentiary services Information received on steps taken since December 2007/current situation • • • Government 2008: No legaladministrative act regulating plea agreement proceedings exists within the Office of the Prosecutor General; however, the Prosecutor has issued Internal Guidelines of a recommendatory character as an authoritative guideline for prosecutors in accordance with recommendations by international experts Non-governmental sources: NGOs do not have access to the Internal Guidelines. Government 2008: In line with the ongoing reforms, on 31 October 2008 the Parliament of Georgia adopted the Law on a Legal Entity of Public Law “Levan Samkharauli National Bureau of Judicial Expertise”, which entered into force on 1 January 2009 and creates the National Bureau as an independent legal entity of A/HRC/10/44/Add.5 page 25 Forensic medical services be under judicial or another independent authority, not under the same governmental authority as the police and the penitentiary system. Steps taken in previous years (See: A/HRC/4/33/Add.2 and A/HRC/7/3/Add.2) four numbers on his/her uniform • Complaint mechanisms are provided by the Law on Imprisonment and by Minister of Justice Decree No. 620 of 26 June 2006 • Amendments to the CC along with Internal Guidelines of the Prosecutor General regarding Preliminary Investigation into allegations of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment adopted on 7 October 2005 introduced a number of safeguards, notably supervision by a judge and presence of a defense lawyer • The guidelines also provide that no plea agreements should be used with respect to victims of torture and/or with respect to persons accused of torture, threat to torture and inhumane and degrading treatment The National Bureau for Forensic Expertise (NBFE) is not structurally subordinated to the Ministry of Justice; its Charter provides for considerable independence while carrying out its duties. NBFE has an independent budget, bank account, stamp and other requisites of any legal entity.