with the terms of the law and regulations in force. No juvenile should be sanctioned unless he or she has been informed of the alleged infraction in a manner appropriate to the full understanding of the juvenile, and given a proper opportunity of presenting his or her defence, including the right of appeal to a competent impartial authority. Complete records should be kept of all disciplinary proceedings. As was said at the beginning, the most serious irregularities constituting degrading treatment or punishment were found by the National Preventive Mechanism representatives in the Juvenile Detention Centre in Białystok. An example was "the rigour applied with respect to the juveniles staying in the transition rooms which resembled military discipline. The following descriptions of behaviours noticed during the visits illustrate the atmosphere among the juveniles placed in the transition rooms: 9 when the Centre's employee was entering the room, the juvenile was obliged to stand at attention and utter the greeting: "Good morning, sir. The juvenile (name and surname) reports his presence in the transition room and wishes you a nice day". In the visiting persons' opinion, such a command does not involve any educational justification. Its purpose is not to teach the juvenile good manners or salutations but to stress his absolute subordination to the Centre's employees; 9 during their stay in the transition rooms, (newly admitted) juveniles had to wear pyjamas all day and night. They did not get tracksuits which they could wear during the day; 9 the rule was that during the day the boys could not lie on the bed, they could only stand, walk and sit on a chair; 9 at night, the juveniles relieved themselves into a bucket standing in the room; 9 if the juveniles did not conform to the strictly mentioned rules of conduct and those included in the Rules of procedure, they were punished. However, applied disciplinary measures were not reflected in the legislation. For example, on the day of the visit, one of the boys placed in the transition room, due to the use of improper language towards the guard was deprived of all the things that constituted the furniture of the room, i.e.: bed, table, chair, books, press. He slept on the floor by two nights, with only a blanket available. This practice was confirmed by other juveniles who also had experienced that type of punishment. The interviewed juveniles said that they had had no access to press and books. It should be definitely stated that such behaviour is unacceptable66. " In addition, the information about bad treatment or punishment, obtained by the National Preventive Mechanism members indicated, inter alia, application of collective responsibility (JDC in Laskowiec) or punishments other than set forth in the rules of procedure (e.g. JDC in Studzieniec). Highly alarming were the signals on the                                                              66 RPO -597667-VII-7020/11006.3/10/JJ.