A/HRC/4/33/Add.2 Page 94 arrested person has to be informed about the charges brought against him/her in the presence of a defence counsel, at soon as possible. In the case of a preventive arrest of a suspect or accused, the judge informs a member of his family or another person designated by the suspect or accused within 24 hours. The same right applies to a person in police detention who can ask for a member of his family or another person designated by him/her to be informed. Also, according to article 143 (1-1) of the Criminal Procedure Code at the moment of arrest, the criminal investigators have the obligation to inform the accused about his/her right to hire a defence lawyer, as well as about the right not to make any declaration and to warn him/her that any declaration he/she makes could be used against him/her. 530. Recommendation (o) stated: The Forensic Institute should be placed under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health, independent of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice. All forensic doctors should be properly trained in identifying the sequelae of physical torture or ill-treatment. The examinations of medical doctors selected by the detainees should be given weight in any court proceedings (relating to the detainees or to officials accused of torture or ill-treatment) equivalent to that accorded to officially employed doctors having comparable qualifications. Protocols should be established to assist forensic doctors to ensure that the medical examination of detainees is comprehensive. Medical certificates should never be handed to the police or to the detainee while in the custody of the police, but should be made available to the detainee once out of their hands and to his or her lawyer immediately. 531. The Government informed that the Forensic Institute is placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health and is independent from the Ministry of Administration and Interior or the Ministry of Justice. The director of the Institute of Legal Medicine in Bucharest, explained that only a medical certificate issued by a forensic doctor is admissible in court. A medical certificate obtained from a private physician or a civil hospital should, however, be taken into account by the forensic doctor when issuing his/ her own certificate. Very few cases of police ill-treatment are actually submitted to the Forensic Institute. In light of allegations that the police interferes in the issuance of medical certificates, the alleged victim may also request the Forensic Institute to issue a new certificate. 532. Recommendation (p) stated: The Ombudsman should be granted powers to sanction any official who refuses to cooperate with the investigation of a complaint. The Office of the Ombudsman should be provided with the necessary financial and human resources to carry out its functions. A public awareness campaign should be established to make the public at large aware of the role that the Office can play in investigating complaints of police abuse. 533. The Government informed that the “People’s Advocate”, an Ombudsman type institution, helps to settle disputes between natural persons and the public administration authorities amiably, by mediation and dialogue. Such procedures specific to the Ombudsman do not always yield the expected results, especially when the partners are not willing to have a real dialogue or do not want to accept a compromise. The People’s Advocate is an institution of mediation, of dialogue, without the right to impose sanctions (cancellations of acts, fines, removal from office) or to ask that legal proceedings be initiated against public servants who have infringed the law. The consolidation of the People’s Advocate institution, as a continuous process, has been strongly supported by the Parliament of Romania.

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