other than those set out in sections 6 and 12 of When the Secretary of State's decisions affected to life, they could be contested in the courts. the term "exceptional leave", the representative remain in United Kingdom territory was available persons in humanitarian cases. the Extradition Act 1989. a person's fundamental right With regard to the meaning of explained that such. leave to to ensure protection for all 116. The situation of asylum seekers in detention was closely reviewed by immigration authorities. An independent Board of Visitors had unrestricted access to all detainees and could transmit any serious complaint to the Home Secretary. 117. Concerning articles 5 to 7 of the Convention, the representative stated that the courts of Great Britain and Northern Ireland had wide extraterritorial jurisdiction to deal with any person present in the United Kingdom, regardless of the nationality of the offender or victim. A person who was not extradited would be prosecuted if there was sufficient evidence to warrant proceedings being taken. So far no proceedings had been taken for torture under section 134. 118. With respect to article 10 of the Convention, the representative explained that training for law enforcement personnel stressed the importance of never abusing their authority and never ill-treating the persons in their care. As to prison medical officers, Prison Standing Order No. 13 repeated the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules; the representative added, however, that in the light of the comments of several members of the Committee it would be sensible to see whether the current provisions in the United Kingdom adequate~y reflected the country's obligations under article 10 of the Convention. 119. Concerning article 11 of the Convention, the representative informed the Committee that prison staff were never armed and that in the event of a serious disturbance, which required outside assistance, the police were called in. The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners were reflected in the Prison Rules 1964, which applied to England and Wales, and similar rules which applied in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom applied all but a small number of the United Nations Rules and any exceptions related to budgetary or technical problems. Regarding the concern raised over the number of prisoners who had committed suicide, the representative gave statistics on the number of self-inflicted deaths in England and Wales and informed the Committee of the various initiatives or measures taken by the Government on that specific matter was well as about proposals to reform the prison system in England and Wales. 120. Prison medical officers were responsible for the mental and physical health of the prisoners. Guidance given to prison medical officers strongly discouraged the use of strip cells for suicidal prisoners, but it was recognized that it might be necessary for short periods. With regard to concerns raised as to the right to silence, the Government had recently established a Royal Commission on Criminal Justice to consider the opportunity available for an accused person to state his position and how far the courts might draw inferences from the silence of an accused person and would await the findings of the Royal Commission before considering the matter further. -25Digitized by Dag Hammarskjöld Library