A/HRC/4/33/Add.2 Page 43 regulating plea-bargaining. Namely the court, before approving an agreement based on plea bargaining, has to ascertain whether "the agreement has been reached without signs of violence, threat, deception or other kinds of illegal promise, voluntarily, and with the ability of the accused to receive qualified legal aid." and whether “torture, inhuman or degrading treatment have been used by police or other law enforcement officials against the accused…It is prohibited to conclude an agreement if it restricts the right of an accused to request criminal proceedings against relevant person/s in case of torture, inhumane or degrading treatment."3 Notwithstanding the aforementioned amendments, in the absence of a clear definition and limitation of the crimes on which a plea-bargain agreement can be reached, there still is a chance that torture or other illegal methods were used. 224. The Government informed that careful reading of the new articles along with the Internal Guidelines of the Prosecutor General of Georgia shows that recommendation D has been implemented. Under paragraph 1 of article 6793 the plea agreement is to be concluded in writing and approved at a public hearing with the exception of cases when there are grounds for conducting a closed hearing. The plea agreement must be reflected in the judgment passed by the court. It must be proved to the court that the agreement has been made without resorting to violence, intimidation, deception or any other kind of illegal promise, on a voluntary basis and that the accused had the possibility to receive legal assistance. Under paragraph 7 of article 6791 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, it is prohibited to conclude a procedural agreement without direct participation of the defence counsel and consent of the defendant. In accordance with recent amendments to the criminal procedural legislation, a plea agreement is null and void if it infringes on the right of the accused to request criminal proceedings against relevant person/s in case of torture, inhumane or degrading treatment guaranteed by the Constitution of Georgia.” (art. 6791 in form of paragraph 71 of CPC). 225. Paragraph 21 of article 6793 reads as follows: “The Court is under an obligation to be assured directly by the accused that there has been no torture, inhumane or degrading treatment by the police or other law enforcement official vis-à-vis the accused, before approving the plea agreement. The judge is also under an obligation to explain to the accused, that his/her suit regarding the fact of torture, inhumane or degrading treatment shall not affect the approval of a procedural arrangement that has been adopted in accordance with the law.” This is the procedural guarantee taken by the Court, which, at the same time, is accompanied by certain restrictions imposed on the part of the prosecution. 226. On 7 October 2005, the Prosecutor General of Georgia issued Internal Guidelines regarding Preliminary Investigation into allegations of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment. In the mentioned guidelines, the fight against human rights violations is declared as one of the main priorities of the Office of Prosecutor General of Georgia. These internal guidelines were adopted taking into consideration the recommendations of international experts and organisations and in order to give a clear and unambiguous interpretation to the procedural rules of CPC. Along with the aforementioned articles of CPC it creates a secure framework against the abuse of plea agreements. They contain the following recommendations: • To consider any information or application regarding the fact of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, notwithstanding its validity as a report on a criminal act and therefore as a basis for initiating a preliminary investigation. 3 Paragraphs 1 and 21 of Article 6793 and paragraph 71 of Article 6791.