E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.6 page 23 Prevention of torture and ill-treatment through safeguards in the criminal justice system (e) Those legally arrested should not be held in facilities under the control of their interrogators or investigators for more than the time required by law to obtain a judicial warrant of pretrial detention, which normally should not exceed a period of 48 hours. After this period they should be transferred to a pretrial facility under a different authority, where no further unsupervised contact with the interrogators or investigators is permitted. (f) Recourse to pretrial detention in the Criminal Procedure Law should be restricted, particularly for non-violent, minor or less serious offences, and the application of non-custodial measures such as bail and recognizance be increased. (g) All detainees should be effectively guaranteed the ability to challenge the lawfulness of the detention before an independent court, e.g. through habeas corpus proceedings. (h) Confessions made without the presence of a lawyer and that are not confirmed before a judge should not be admissible as evidence. Video and audio taping of all persons present during proceedings in interrogation rooms should be expanded throughout the country. (i) Judges and prosecutors should routinely inquire of persons brought from police custody how they have been treated and in any case of doubt (and even in the absence of a formal complaint from the defendant), order an independent medical examination. (j) The reform of the CPL should conform to fair trial provisions, as guaranteed in article 14 of ICCPR, including the following: the right to remain silent and the privilege against self-incrimination; the effective exclusion of evidence extracted through torture; the presumption of innocence; timely notice of reasons for detention or arrest; prompt external review of detention or arrest; timely access to counsel; adequate time and facilities to prepare a defence; appearance and cross-examination of witnesses; and ensuring the independence and impartiality of the judiciary. (k) The power to order or approve arrest and supervision of the police and detention facilities of the procurators should be transferred to independent courts.75 (l) Section 306 of the Criminal Law, according to which any lawyer who counsels a client to repudiate a forced confession, for example, could risk prosecution should be abolished. Other measures of prevention (m) The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture should be ratified, and a truly independent monitoring mechanism be established - where the members of the visiting commissions would be appointed for a fixed period and not subject to dismissal - to visit all places where persons are deprived of their liberty throughout the country.