conduct of the prosecution, as to whether it seeks to process the case promptly or not The European Court has generally found a period of anything above two years to be unreasonable, unless exceptional circumstances exist. Lack of resources on the part of the state has not been regarded as an exceptional circumstance, the European Court has indicated that state might seek to organise their legal system in such a way that people do not remain in prison awaiting trial for unnecessarily long periods. The Civil and Political Covenant also requires that, save in exceptional circumstances, people awaiting trial be kept from those who are convicted and that they be treated in a manner which acknowledges that they have not been convicted. Living Conditions in Prison One basic requirement in relation to living conditions in prison is that juvenile offenders be separated from adults. The Civil and Political Rights Convention establishes this as a requirement and the Rights of the Child Convention, to which Armenia is a party, also provides for it "unless it is considered in the child best interests not to do so". The other basic requirement is that living conditions should not amount to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. As with the right to trial in a reasonable time international human rights institutions have been reluctant to spell our who exactly prison conditions may amount to inhuman or degrading treatment. It is accepted that prisoners may well find any experience of imprisonment degrading and that the normal consequences of imprisonment in terms of reduced freedom and reduced facilities do not amount to a breach of human rights. However there is a minimum below which conditions must not fall. Things which may amount to inhuman or degrading treatment include excessive use of physica1 force to control prisoners, keeping people in solitary confinement for long periods when their conduct does not require it, putting several prisoners into a small cell for lengthy periods, denying prisoners frequent access to washing and toilet facilities, denial of regular access to exercise, conditions which are especially dirty, smelly or noisy and lack of. medical care These things may be looked at cumulatively and matters such as the age and health of the prisoners involved must be taken into account. The attitude of the authorities is also important. Prison authorities which act in an arbitrary way or which display indifference to prisoner's medical or sanitation needs are much more likely to be found to have been guilty of inhuman and degrading treatment. One of the best sources of guidance on what amounts to inhuman or degrading treatment in the prison context can currently be found in the reports of The European Committee on the Prevention of Torture, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment, the body which seeks to implement the European Convention on Torture. The Committee has published general comments on the interpretation of inhuman or degrading treatment which develop our understanding of the term. In its Third Report, for example, it considered the issue of medical care and sets out a number of standards. These included the idea that there should be an "equivalence" between medical care available in prison and that available in the rest of the country, that a prisoner should be able to have confidential access to a doctor at any time and that medical personnel who work in prisons should be aligned as closely as possible with mainstream healthcare services in order to ensure the doctor's independence. The Maintenance of Order within a Prison Prisons are often difficult and dangerous places to manage. International human rights law recognises that prison authorities may need powers not usually granted in the outside world to maintain order and prevent disturbances within a prison This may include powers to search prisoners and their cells, to remove them from the general prison population to particular parts of the prison or to solitary confinement, to transfer them to a different prison or to remove their access to benefits like early release. However again there are limits on. what may be done consistent with respecting the human rights of prisoners. We have already said that using excessive physical force to retrain a prisoner or putting them in solitary confinement for long periods can amount to inhuman and degrading treatment. The use of harsh disciplinary punishments, such as removing any entitlement a prisoner had to early OSCE ODIHR Bulletin Vol. 4 No. 3 17