E/CN.4/2000/4/Add.2 page 8 able to postulate for a position in the Supreme Court. The retirement age is 60 for judges in the tribunals of first instance and 63 for judges of the appelate courts and the Supreme Court. 27. With the exception of the Supreme Court judges, who are nominated by the President of the Republic upon the proposal of Parliament, the nomination of all other judges is within the competence of the executive power (Ministry of Justice). If they commit acts of professional negligence, they can be brought before an internal disciplinary jurisdiction (“Council of Honour”). The status of the Prosecutor’s Office 28. The Prosecutor’s Office, which is not independent, is placed under the authority of the Attorney General, who is designated by the President. Its structure is hierarchical at all levels of jurisdiction. The training of prosecutors mirrors that of judges but is conducted separately. In the course of a prosecutor’s career, it is not possible to be transferred from the Prosecutor’s Office to a judge's function and vice versa. 29. There are two professional associations: one for judges, the other for prosecutors. In both cases membership is compulsory. Neither judges nor prosecutors can be members of a political party. As to the gender distribution of the judiciary, there are 40 per cent of women in tribunals of first instance and in the appellate courts. In the Supreme Court, 7 judges out of 51 are women. 30. The lack of independence of the judiciary from the executive, judges' civil servant status, and the lack of a guarantee of non-removal from office can only compromise the right to a fair and impartial trial. This is why it is all the more important for the Government to pursue the reforms it is considering in this area and to adopt them as a matter of urgency. 2. The criminal procedure guarantees applicable in cases of arrest and detention 31. Under the Code of Criminal Procedure (except for arrest in-the-act, KUHAP, art. 18, para. 2), only police officers, and not the armed forces, are competent to arrest individuals. When making an arrest the police investigator must present an “assignment letter” and be in possession of an arrest warrant, valid for 24 hours, which gives details about the identity of the individual concerned and the reasons for his arrest. A copy must be given to him and to his family. The individual concerned must be brought to the nearest police station, where a procès-verbal of the first interrogation is established. A register of entries and departures is in principle kept up-to-date at every police station, as the Group was able to verify. 32. Immediately upon arrest and thereafter, the individual concerned may request assistance from a legal advisor of his own choice (arts. 55 and 60) or from a lawyer designated by the State if he cannot pay for legal assistance. Such legal assistance is compulsory if the individual risks the death penalty or a sentence of five years or more. The individual must benefit from the