Consideration of the merits under the responsibility of police officers or members of the armed forces. By Law No. 15,783 of 28 November 1985, persons who had been arbitrarily dismissed for political, ideological or trade-union reasons were entitled to reinstatement. 10. The Committee has taken due note of the State party's contention that the Committee's decision on admissibility was not well founded. 11. Even though the State party has not specifically invoked article 93, paragraph 4, of the Committee's rules of procedure, the Committee has ex officio reviewed its decision of 20 March 1992 in the light of the State party's arguments. The Committee reiterates its finding that the criteria of admissibility of the communication were satisfied and holds that there is no reason to set aside the decision. 8.4 With regard to the right to judicial safeguards and the obligation to investigate, the State party asserts that Law No. 15,848 in no way restricts the system of judicial remedies established in article 2, paragraph 3, of the Covenant. Pursuant to this law, only the State's right to bring criminal charges lapsed. The law did not eliminate the legal effects of offences in areas outside the sphere of criminal law. Moreover, the State argues, its position is consistent with the judgement of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the case of Velasquez Rodríguez that the international protection of human rights should not be confused with criminal justice (para. 174). 12.1 With regard to the merits of the communication, the Committee notes that the State party has not disputed the author's allegations that he was subjected to torture by the authorities of the then military regime in Uruguay. Bearing in mind that the author's allegations are substantiated, the Committee finds that the facts as submitted sustain a finding that the military regime in Uruguay violated article 7 of the Covenant. In this context, the Committee notes that, although the Optional Protocol lays down a procedure for the examination of individual communications, the State party has not addressed the issues raised by the author as a victim of torture nor submitted any information concerning an investigation into the author's allegations of torture. Instead, the State party has limited itself to justifying, in general terms, the decision of the Government of Uruguay to adopt an amnesty law. 8.5 In this connection, the State party contends that "to investigate past events ... is tantamount to reviving the confrontation between persons and groups. This certainly will not contribute to reconciliation, pacification and the strengthening of democratic institutions." Moreover, "the duty to investigate does not appear in the Covenant or any express provision, and there are consequently no rules governing the way this function is to be exercised. Nor is there any indication in the Convention text concerning its precedence or superiority over other duties – such as the duty to punish – nor, of course, concerning any sort of independent legal life detached from the legal and political context within which human rights as a whole come into play ... The State can, subject to the law and in certain circumstances, refrain from making available to the person concerned the means of establishing the truth formally and officially in a criminal court, which is governed by public, not private interest. This, of course, does not prevent or limit the free exercise by such a person of his individual rights, such as the right to information, which in many cases in themselves lead to the discovery of the truth, even if it is not the public authorities themselves that concern themselves with the matter." 12.2 As to the appropriate remedy that the author may claim pursuant to article 2, paragraph 3, of the Covenant, the Committee finds that the adoption of Law No. 15,848 and subsequent practice in Uruguay have rendered the realization of the author's right to an adequate remedy extremely difficult. 12.3 The Committee cannot agree with the State party that it has no obligation to investigate violations of Covenant rights by a prior regime, especially when these include crimes as serious as torture. Article 2, paragraph 3 (a) of the Covenant clearly stipulates that each State party undertakes "to ensure that any person whose rights or freedoms as herein recognized are violated shall have an effective remedy, notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity". In this context, the Committee refers to its general comment No. 20 (44) on article 7,4 which provides that allegations of torture must be fully investigated by the State: 8.6 With regard to the author's contention that Law No. 15,848 "frustrates any attempt to obtain compensation, as the enforcement of the law bars an official investigation of his allegations" the State party asserts that there have been many cases in which claims similar to that of the author have succeeded in civil actions and that payment has been obtained. 9. The State party's submission was transmitted to the author for comments on 5 January 1993. In spite of a reminder dated 9 June 1993, no comments were received from the author. 4 Adopted at the Committee's forty-fourth session (1992); see Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-seventh Session, Supplement No. 40 (A/47/40), annex VI.A. 29