E/CN.4/2002/77/Add.2 page 13 C. Reforms in the administration of justice 31. Amongst the great changes taking place, the administration of justice lies at the heart of the current reforms, as the delegation was able to ascertain. Before describing these reforms, it is pertinent to review the constitutional principles that underpin the current system for the administration of justice. 32. The Constitution adopted in 1973 expressly calls for an independent judiciary and states that, in the administration of justice, judges should not be subject to any authority (art. 101). The law is nevertheless cited as the means of regulating access to justice, the organization and operation of the justice system, and the organization and operation of the law-enforcement authorities. Articles 102 and 103 proclaim the establishment of a Supreme Council of the Judiciary, a constitutional court and courts martial with jurisdiction restricted to members of the armed and security forces. 33. The Constitution stipulates that individual liberties, in particular those covered by the mandate of the Working Group, are guaranteed by the law and may be restricted only under the supervision of the judicial authorities. Article 19 states: “(a) Personal liberty is guaranteed in accordance with the law. “(b) No person shall be arrested, detained, searched or compelled to reside in a specific place, nor shall the residence of any person or his liberty of movement be restricted, except in accordance with the law and under the supervision of the judicial authorities. “(c) No detention or imprisonment shall be imposed in places other than those specified in the prison laws. In these places, health and social welfare shall be observed, and they shall be subject to the supervision of the judicial authorities. “(d) No person shall be subjected to physical or mental torture, enticement or degrading treatment, and the law shall provide the penalty for these acts. Any statement or confession shall be null and void if it is proved to have been made under duress or enticement or degrading treatment or threat thereof.” 34. Article 20 sets forth other universal principles such as the presumption of innocence, the legal definition of crimes and penalties, non-retroactivity of laws imposing punishments, and the right to a fair hearing in which the accused is guaranteed the right to defence at all stages of the investigation and trial. 35. It must, however, be pointed out that the Constitution was partially suspended after the first elected National Assembly was dissolved in 1975, and the constitutional court was never established. Penal laws predating the adoption of the Constitution, and in some instances inconsistent with the principles that the Constitution sets forth, continued to apply, and the situation was made worse by the promulgation of the emergency legislation mentioned above (see chap. I).