CAT/C/BDI/CO/2 effective application of article 2 of the Convention, under which an order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture. The absolute prohibition of torture 9. The Committee is concerned by the fact that the Military Criminal Code of the State party is not in conformity with international standards relating to the elimination of torture because, contrary to article 4 of the Convention, under the Code acts of torture committed by military personnel do not constitute an offence (arts. 2 and 4). The State party should, as a matter of urgency, take steps to incorporate provisions into its Military Criminal Code that establish that acts of torture and ill-treatment committed by military personnel constitute an offence, that such offences are not subject to any statute of limitations and that the sentences for such offences are irreducible. The provisions to be incorporated into the Code should also establish appropriate penalties. Police custody, pretrial detention and fundamental legal safeguards 10. While taking note of the State party’s amendment of its Code of Criminal Procedure, the Committee remains concerned at: the excessive length of time during which people can be held in police custody; numerous instances in which the allowable duration of police custody has been exceeded; failures to keep registers on persons in custody or failures to ensure that such records are complete; failures to comply with fundamental legal safeguards for persons deprived of their liberty; the absence of provisions that guarantee access to a doctor and access to legal assistance for persons of limited means; and the excessive use of pretrial detention in the absence of regular reviews of its legality and of any limit on its total duration (arts. 9, 10, 11 and 14). The State party should: amend its Code of Criminal Procedure to reduce the allowable duration of police custody to 48 hours; set a reasonable limit on the duration of pretrial detention; guarantee that persons held in police custody or pretrial detention can avail themselves of fundamental legal safeguards, including those of being informed of their rights, having access to a lawyer and a doctor of their choice, being able to contact family members or friends, having access to legal assistance in the case of persons of limited means and being brought before a judge without delay. The State party should also bring its practices with regard to pretrial detention into line with international standards of due process in order to ensure the prompt administration of justice. Allegations of torture and extrajudicial killings 11. The Committee is alarmed by credible, corroborative and persistent reports of a large number of acts of torture and extrajudicial killings committed by members of the Burundian National Police and the National Intelligence Service. It is concerned about the slow pace and limited scope of the investigations and judicial proceedings that have been opened in this connection, which would appear to corroborate claims that the perpetrators of these acts enjoy impunity. The Committee also finds it regrettable that no information about cases that have gone to trial or the outcome of those trials has been forthcoming. It is also concerned at the absence of protection for victims and witnesses, who are subject to reprisals (arts. 2, 4, 6, 7, 12 and 14). The State party should: (a) Adopt all the effective measures necessary to combat impunity by systematically undertaking prompt, impartial and effective investigations into any and all reports of torture or the arbitrary deprivation of the right to life in order to GE.14-24205 3