CEDAW/C/74/D/126/2018 unmeritorious. The inquiry involves a factual investigation, and recommendations will be made on the future deployment of undercover policing. An issue as complex as undercover policing, dating back to 1968, requires thorough and sensitive factual investigation before it may be considered at the policy level. The time that is being taken for the inquiry, the approach to legal representation and the management of information and evidence are, therefore, reasonable in the light of the scale an d complexity of the task. That the inquiry is a relevant domestic remedy is not undermined by the authors’ criticism of the timing or by their criticism that they have only one set of lawyers or that they may not have unrestricted access to “the full contents of their police or special branch files; only the content of the files which the Inquiry considers to be relevant and necessary to the Inquiry’s terms of reference”. Regarding the authors’ assertion that the recommendations of the inquiry may or may not relate to some of the remedies that they seek, this does not assist the authors, because they have chosen to submit their communication while the inquiry is ongoing and at a time when no recommendations have yet been made. Moreover, the authors have the opportunity, as core participants in the inquiry, to make submissions on what should be recommended as part of the inquiry. Lastly, the contention that there is no power, under the inquiry, to ensure that its recommendations are enacted does not negate the fact that it is a legitimate and important part of the process by which the State party is considering the future of undercover policing and a mechanism through which the authors may obtain information, documents and recommendations. 4.10 Second, the authors lack victim status with respect to their argument that the legislative framework allows and enables similar violations to occur. The authors obtained effective redress for the harm that they suffered by settling their claims. The authors are not victims solely because they consider that there are defects in the legislative framework in circumstances that do not affect them. 4.11 Third, although the authors argue that the public apology is undermined by the lack of assurances by the police that the disputed conduct will not reoccur, it is hardly surprising that there is a range of views on undercover policing. That range of views explains why the State party has made such significant efforts to investigate the matter, including through the inquiry. The inquiry involves, among other things, assessing the adequacy of the justification, authorization, operational governance and oversight of undercover policing; the selection, training, management and care of undercover police officers; and the statutory, policy and judicial regulation of undercover policing. 4.12 Fourth, while none of the police officers involved or their superiors has been criminally prosecuted, the reasoning of the Crown Prosecution Service is explained in the documents annexed to the communication. As a result of the ongoing Operation Herne, the officer who had relations with D.L. and T.B. has been dismissed from the police for gross misconduct. Because D.L. does not appear to have taken legal steps to challenge the decision of the Crown Prosecution Service, the lack of prosecution may not be criticized. 4.13 The communication is also inadmissible because all seven authors lack victim status. As with the author in X. v. Austria, each author settled her national civil claims. The authors each received substantial damages, payment for legal costs and a public apology. 4.14 Moreover, the authors’ attempt, now, to impugn the settlement is unmeritorious, for the following reasons: (a) they were legally represented at all material times and chose to accept the settlement offers, which they must have been advised were reasonable, at the very least; (b) they chose, by agreeing to settle, to forego the opportunity to press for or obtain disclosure or a court ruling; (c) they chose the terms 10/15 19-22187