CAT/OP/UKR/1 4. Judiciary 30. Under Ukrainian law, if the investigating agency wants to keep a suspect in custody for more than 72 hours, it must bring him/her before a judge for a reasoned court decision within that 3-day period. Whilst interviews carried out by the SPT confirmed that the obligation to bring detainees before a judge within this timeframe was generally complied with, many complained that judges showed little interest in the circumstances of their arrest and tended to rubberstamp the request to extend their detention. According to information gathered, judges rarely asked questions about detainees’ treatment during investigation. 31. In light of consistent allegations of torture and ill-treatment (see Chapter IV), judges should be vigilant for signs of torture and ill-treatment, and take legal steps to terminate and remedy such situations. 32. The SPT recommends that judges be obliged by law to ask every detainee about his/her treatment during investigation, to record in writing any allegations of torture or ill-treatment, and to order an immediate forensic medical examination13 whenever there are grounds to believe that a detainee could have been subjected to torture or illtreatment. 33. The continued prevalence of the use of confessions as the key element in judicial proceedings is concerning, despite national legislation providing that confessions constitute only a part of the evidence, and have to be verified and supported by other evidence. 34. The SPT strongly recommends the strengthened training of judges to avoid the over-reliance on confession evidence. Furthermore, judges should at all times refuse to accept confessions when there are reasonable grounds to believe that these have been obtained by means of torture or ill-treatment. C. Fundamental safeguards 1. Safeguards applicable upon deprivation of liberty (a) Information on the reasons for arrest and on the rights of detainees 35. Many persons interviewed indicated that they had not been properly informed of the reason for their detention at the time of arrest, 14 nor had they been informed of their rights. 15 Providing persons deprived of their liberty with information on the reason for their arrest and on their rights constitutes fundamental safeguards against arbitrary detention, and against torture and ill-treatment. 36. The SPT recommends that the State party ensure that instructions be given to detaining officers to safeguard the effective and systematic implementation of the right of each person deprived of liberty to be informed orally and in writing of the reason for his/her arrest and of his/her rights during detention, in a language that they can understand, at the outset of detention, and that this be recorded. 13 14 15 In accordance with the Istanbul Protocol, cf. subsection C.1.(v) below. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) article 9, paragraph 2. Principle 13 of the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment. 7