UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND, CROWN DEPENDENCIES AND OVERSEAS TERRITORIES 36. The Committee considered the fourth periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories (CAT/C/67/Add.2) at its 624th and 627th meetings, held on 17 and 18 November 2004 (CAT/C/SR.624 and 627) and has adopted the following conclusions and recommendations. A. Introduction 37. The fourth periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was due on 6 January 2002 and was received on 6 November 2003. Like the previous report, it conformed to the guidelines of the Committee pertaining to the preparation of such reports, including the point by point replies to the Committee’s previous recommendations. The Committee welcomes the comprehensive information provided by the State party, and the inclusive participation in the reporting process of institutions and NGOs concerned with the protection of human rights. The Committee commends the exhaustive written responses provided to the list of issues, as well as the detailed responses provided both in writing and orally to the questions posed by the members during the examination of the report. B. Positive aspects 38. The Committee notes: (a) The responsiveness of the State party to some of the previous recommendations of the Committee, in particular the closure of certain prison facilities previously found to be problematic, the confirmation that no baton rounds have been fired by either the police or the army in Northern Ireland since September 2002 and the dissolution of the Royal Ulster Constabulary; (b) The entry into force in 2000 of the Human Rights Act 1998; (c) The entry into force of the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 covering acts committed by United Kingdom nationals or residents either in the State party or abroad; and the State party’s commitment to preventing British companies from manufacturing, selling or procuring equipment designed primarily for torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; (d) The judgement of 24 March 1999 of the Judicial Committee of the House of Lords in the case of R. v. Bartle and the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis, ex parte Pinochet holding that the State party’s courts have jurisdiction over acts of torture committed abroad and that a former Head of State does not have immunity for such crimes; (e) The establishment of an independent Police Complaints Commission for England and Wales and, in Northern Ireland, the office of Police Ombudsman, and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission; (f) The State party’s assurance that the United Kingdom Armed Forces, military advisers, and other public servants deployed on operations abroad are “subject at all times to English criminal law” including the prohibition on torture and ill-treatment; 16