argued that a retrial would constitute an effective remedy. investigation, were postponing the investigation of the author’s allegations. He contended furthermore that the courts had failed to examine the allegations of torture in a timely fashion, during the criminal proceedings against the author. 4.3 The State party further contended that the author could have appealed to the Constitutional Court under section 144 of the federal Constitution, as he claims to be a victim of abuse of administrative power and compulsion. 5.3 Concerning the possibility of an appeal to the Constitutional Court under section 144 of the Federal Constitution, counsel argued that this appeal was not available to the author, as this procedure applies to administrative, not to criminal law. Moreover, counsel argued that, even if this appeal were available, it would not constitute an effective remedy, as criminal courts are not bound by the evaluation of evidence in the Constitutional Court. 4.4 Since no appeal to the Constitutional Court had been submitted by the author and criminal proceedings against Mr. J.J. were still pending, the State party argued that the communication was inadmissible under article 22, paragraph 5 (b), of the Convention, on the ground of non-exhaustion of domestic remedies. 5.4 Concerning the State party’s contention that article 15 of the Convention had not been violated, counsel submitted that it is not clear from the text of article 15 how it should be established that a statement is made as a result of torture. He argued that it is sufficient that the author adduces some evidence indicating that a statement was given as a result of torture. In this connection, he referred to the difficulty for a victim to prove that he has been subjected to torture, owing to the isolation in detention and the absence of independent witnesses during interrogation. He further stated that article 15 applies to “any statement”, not only to confessions or false statements, as the State party seemed to imply. He finally argued that it could not be said that the author’s allegations were examined by the jury during his trial, as Inspector J.J. was not questioned on the issue, nor confronted with witnesses. 4.5 The State party moreover argued that the communication was inadmissible as incompatible with the provisions of the Convention. It submitted that the allegations that the witnesses had been tortured were not raised before the investigating judge, but only during the trial, after the witnesses were confronted with their statements; prior to these allegations the statements were properly deemed to be admissible evidence. Moreover, the State party argued that the witnesses gave independent, admissible evidence before the investigating judge. The State party stated that only one witness disputed the correctness of the statement made to the police; however, his statement did not incriminate the author. The correctness of other statements was not in dispute. 4.6 As concerns the author, the State party conceded that he claimed before the investigating judge to have been subjected to torture; however, according to the State party, he denied the charges against him and did not make a confession as such; thus it cannot be said that his statements were used as evidence in violation of article 15. Committee’s admissibility decision 6.1 At its eighth session, the Committee considered the admissibility of the communication. It ascertained that the same matter had not been or was not being examined under another procedure of international investigation or settlement, and that a case concerning the author which was pending before the European Commission of Human Rights concerned a different matter. 4.7 Finally, the State party submitted that it appears from the trial record that the jury’s verdict was not based on the statements made by the witnesses who had claimed to have been subjected to torture. 6.2 The Committee further considered that article 22, paragraph 5 (b), of the Convention did not, in the circumstances of the case, preclude the Committee from considering the communication on the merits. In this context, the Committee considered that there had been an unreasonable delay in the conduct of investigations into the author’s allegations of torture, which were made in December 1988, and that no further effective remedies appeared to be available. 5.1 In his comments on the State party’s submission, counsel maintained that the communication should be declared admissible. 5.2 As regards the exhaustion of domestic remedies, counsel submitted that it was incomprehensible that the criminal proceedings against Inspector J.J. had not yet been concluded. He contended that the proceedings were unreasonably prolonged and indicated that the delay appeared to be attributable to the fact that the State party had joined the author’s case with other pending matters against Inspector J.J. Thus, the difficulties in obtaining the testimony of witnesses in the former Yugoslavia and Turkey, concerning another 7. On 5 May 1992, the Committee therefore declared the communication admissible. It noted that the facts as presented by the author might raise issues under articles 12 and 15 and also under other provisions of the Convention. 13