E/CN.4/1996/35/Add.2 page 21 V. RECOMMENDATIONS 76. In light of the above considerations the Special Rapporteur wishes to make the following recommendations. (a) The uniformed police (Carabineros) should be brought under the authority of the Minister of the Interior, rather than the Minister of Defence. They should be subject to ordinary criminal jurisdiction only, and not to military jurisdiction. As long as the military criminal code continues to apply to them, acts of criminal human rights violations, including torture of civilians, should never be considered as an "act committed in the course of duty" (acto de servicio) and should be dealt with exclusively by the ordinary courts. (b) Detention involving denial of access to the outside world (lawyer, family, doctor), whether effected by the police or on the orders of a judge, should not exceed 24 hours and, even in serious cases where there is a well-established fear of collusion prejudicial to the investigation, the maximum period of such detention should not exceed 48 hours. (c) Judges should not have the power to order solitary confinement, other than as a measure in cases of breach of institutional discipline, for more than two days. Pending a change in the law, judges should refrain from using a power that could amount to the ordering of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. (d) All detainees should be provided, immediately after arrest, with information about their rights and how to avail themselves of such rights. (e) All detainees should have their right to communicate without delay and in total confidentiality with their legal counsel fully guaranteed. The domestic law should take into consideration, in this regard, the provisions contained in Principle 18 of the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, as well as paragraph 8 of the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers. (f) All detainees should have access to prompt medical examination by an independent physician. Current legislation should at least be adapted, in this regard, to Principles 24 to 26 of the above-mentioned Body of Principles. (g) The identity of the officials carrying out the arrest and interrogations should be properly recorded. Detainees and their lawyers, as well as judges, should have access to this information. (h) The practice of blindfolding detainees in police custody should be absolutely forbidden. (i) Serious consideration should be given to the possibility of videotaping interrogations and the making of formal confessions or statements, both to protect detainees from abuse and to protect the police from unfounded allegations of improper behaviour. (j) Persons alleged to have committed acts of torture should be suspended from official duties during the investigation.