The CPT’s requirements in this area go further than the following restrictive and somewhat ambiguous provisions of the Istanbul Protocol: “123. Forensic medical evaluation of detainees should be conducted in response to official written requests by public prosecutors or other appropriate officials. Requests for medical evaluations by law enforcement officials are to be considered invalid unless they are requested by written orders of a public prosecutor. Detainees themselves, their lawyers or relatives, however, have the right to request a medical evaluation to seek evidence of torture and ill-treatment.”54 2.2.6 The individual should be expressly and promptly informed of these fundamental safeguards and their corollary rights. Effective implementation of these safeguards relies upon detainees being informed of their rights. According to the CPT, it is “imperative” that this obligation is fulfilled without delay. It states that a standard form containing these rights should be given to everyone who enters custody, and that detainees should be asked to sign a form confirming that they have been informed of their rights.55 2.3 Other arrangements 2.3.1 Comprehensive custody records are essential to providing for the communication of information and evidence relating to ill-­ treatment. Comprehensive and accurate record-keeping is indispensable in securing both the right to liberty and security and the prohibition of ill-treatment. The CPT puts particular emphasis on this guarantee. “The CPT considers that the fundamental safeguards granted to persons in police custody would be reinforced (and the work of police officers quite possibly facilitated) if a single and comprehensive custody record were to exist for each person detained, on which would be recorded all aspects of his custody and action taken regarding them (when deprived of liberty and reasons for that measure; when told of rights; signs of injury, mental illness, etc.; when next of kin/consulate and lawyer contacted and when visited by them; when offered food; when interrogated; when transferred or released, etc.). For various matters (for example, items in the person’s possession, the fact of being told of one’s rights and of invoking or waiving them), the signature of the detainee should 54. Para. 123 of the Istanbul Protocol. 55. 12th General Report on the CPT’s activities, CPT/Inf (2002) 15, para. 44. Effective investigation of ill-treatment – Guidelines ► Page 30