CAT/C/CHN/CO/5 and punished in accordance with the gravity of their acts and that the victims obtain redress; (b) Adopt without delay the necessary measures to ensure the development of a fully independent and self-regulating legal profession, so that lawyers are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, harassment or improper interference; (c) Undertake a review of all the legislation affecting the exercise of the legal profession in accordance with international standards, with a view to amending those provisions that undermine lawyers’ independence. Allegations of torture and ill-treatment by public security officers 20. Notwithstanding the numerous legal and administrative provisions prohibiting the use of torture, the Committee remains seriously concerned over consistent reports indicating that the practice of torture and ill-treatment is still deeply entrenched in the criminal justice system, which overly relies on confessions as the basis for convictions. It also expresses concern over information that the majority of allegations of torture and illtreatment take place during pretrial and extralegal detention and involve public security officers, who wield excessive power during the criminal investigation without effective control by procuratorates and the judiciary. This overarching power is reportedly further intensified by the public security’s joint responsibilities over the investigation and the administration of detention centres which, in the Committee’s view, creates an incentive for the investigators to use detention as a means to compel detainees to confess (arts. 2, 12, 13 and 16). 21. The Committee urges the State party to: (a) Take the necessary legislative and other measures to ensure the complete separation between the functions of pretrial investigation and detention and transfer the power to manage detention centres from the Ministry of Public Security to the Ministry of Justice; (b) Establish an independent, effective and confidential mechanism to facilitate the submission of complaints by victims of torture and ill-treatment to the competent and independent authorities and to ensure in practice that complainants are protected against any reprisal as a consequence of their complaint or any evidence given; (c) Establish effective judicial oversight over the public security officers’ actions during investigation or detention; (d) Improve criminal investigation methods to end practices whereby confessions are relied on as the primary and central element of proof in criminal prosecution. Independence of the investigations of torture allegations 22. The Committee continues to be concerned that the dual functions of procuratorates, namely, prosecution and pre-indictment review of the police investigation, creates a conflict of interest that could taint the impartiality of its actions, even if carried out by different departments. It takes note, furthermore, of the State party’s position that the Chinese Communist Party Politics and Law Committees coordinate the work of judicial bodies without directly taking part in investigations or suggesting lines of action to judges. The Committee is concerned, however, at the necessity of keeping a political body to coordinate the proceedings, with a potential to interfere in judicial affairs, particularly in cases of political relevance. In view of the above, the Committee regrets that the State party has not 6