E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.3 page 7 3. Safeguards against torture and ill-treatment during arrest and detention 17. The safeguards for persons during arrest and detention are provided in article 18 of the Constitution, and include: the impermissibility of detention without a court order; production of an arrested person before a court within 48 hours; a limitation of the period of arrest of 72 hours and a maximum limit of detention in remand of nine months;4 the impermissibility of physical or mental coercion; and right to defence upon arrest. Article 42 reiterates the right to a defence, and provides for the inadmissibility of illegally obtained evidence. 18. The following articles of the 2004 Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) further elaborate on the rights of suspects and detainees as contained in the Constitution: 12 (protection of honour and dignity); 72 (suspected persons); 73 (rights of suspects); 136 (rights of detainees, particularly paragraphs 4 to 8 concerning humane treatment, conditions of detention, illegality of abusive treatment, meetings with lawyers); 138 (notification of arrest); 145 (procedure for arrest); 146 (registration and examination of arrest); 295 (place of interrogation); 302 (duration of interrogation); 304 (use of audio recording); 310 and 311 (interrogation of suspects and accused); 312 (record of interrogation); and 313 (written testimony). Article 19 of CPC provides that a confession without corroborating evidence is insufficient to convict a person, and article 119 provides that evidence obtained through bodily and mental coercion is inadmissible. 4. Investigation and punishment of acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (a) Complaints 19. The right to make a complaint is provided in article 73 (1) (j) of CPC. (b) Investigations 20. Complaints of torture and ill-treatment by public officials may be submitted to the police, the Inspector General of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Procuracy, the judiciary and the Public Defender, and the Procuracy is charged with investigating them, according to articles 45, 62 and 263 of CPC. Even in the absence of a complaint the authorities are required to investigate a crime, according to articles 24, 261, 263 and 264 of CPC, e.g. in cases where they have been notified by non-governmental organizations or through the mass media. 21. Victims are guaranteed the rights to be informed of the investigations, to tender evidence, as well as to appeal against official acts or decisions during the investigations, according to articles 21, 69 and 234 of CPC. 22. Under the 1996 Law on the Public Defender, a complaint may also be submitted to the Public Defender. In carrying out an investigation, this institution is empowered under article 18 with, among other things, unimpeded access to any place of deprivation of liberty, including military units, police custody and pretrial facilities; access to documentation; and recourse to independent expert examinations. Following an investigation, the Public Defender may forward his findings to the competent authorities with a recommendation to institute criminal proceedings, according to article 21.