Against this background, two consecutive Joint Programmes entitled “Combating ill-treatment and impunity” and “Reinforcing the fight against ill-treatment and impunity” were carried out by the Council of Europe and the European Union in 2009-2013. The programmes, of which this publication forms part, focused on police and law enforcement activities, as well as relevant aspects of the functioning of penitentiary systems in five Council of Europe member states: Republic of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.5 This publication comprises two parts: ff Part I highlights the relevant guidelines on international standards as regards effective investigation of ill-treatment (the “Guidelines”); ff Part II is the Explanatory Note to the Guidelines explaining the steps required in order for states to comply with the Guidelines. The first edition of this work was prepared in 2009. The current (second) edition has been developed with the view to update it in line with both the advancement of the case law of the Court and the development of derivative standards since 2009, including the Guidelines of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on eradicating impunity for serious human rights violations6 and the substantial section of the CPT’s 23rd General Report called “Documenting and reporting medical evidence of ill-treatment”.7 Thus, the second edition of the work proposes an updated comprehensive summary of contemporary standards dealing with the procedural duties originating from the prohibition of torture and other forms of ill-treatment. It is expected that they will serve as a useful summary of the relevant norms and will therefore provide guidance as to how they may best be attained. 5. The author was a long-term consultant to the Joint Programme. The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not engage the responsibility of the Council of Europe and/or the European Commission. They should not be regarded as placing upon the legal instruments mentioned any official interpretation capable of binding Member States, the Council of Europe’s statutory organs or any organ set up by virtue of the European Convention on Human Rights or the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. 6. Adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 30 March 2011 at the 1110th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies. See appendix 5 of the current publication. 7. CPT/Inf (2013) 29, paras. 71-84. See appendix 6 of the current publication. Effective investigation of ill-treatment – Guidelines ► Page 6