was requested to submit its observations. Owing to the political situation in the country at that time, the Committee decided to postpone its examination of the situation. In May 2000, the Committee decided to reiterate its request to the State party to submit observations on the allegations received. The observations were finally submitted on 23 August 2000. 157. In November 2000, the Committee decided to establish a confidential inquiry, in view of the fact that the information available to it provided well-founded indications that torture was being systematically practised in the country. At the same time, the Committee requested the Government to agree to a visit by the members designated to conduct the inquiry. The Government agreed to the visit, which took place from 8 to 19 July 2002. II. VISIT TO SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO FROM 8 TO 19 JULY 2002 158. The visit was undertaken by Peter Burns, Andreas Mavrommatis and Ole Vedel Rasmussen. The Committee members visited Belgrade where they held discussions with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, representatives of the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Serbian Deputy Minister of Justice, the Serbian Minister of the Interior and his principal private secretary, the Serbian Public Prosecutor, the Director of the Serbian prison system, members of the Serbian Supreme Court, the head of the Belgrade District Court, the head of the Department of Public Security (Chief of Police) at the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Supreme Military Prosecutor and the Coordinator of the Commission for Truth and Reconciliation. They also met with representatives of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission in Serbia and Montenegro, the Council of Europe and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The members also travelled to Novi Pazar, where they met with the District Prosecutor and representatives of NGOs. Visits were also made to a number of police stations and prisons in Belgrade and other parts of Serbia. 159. Furthermore, the members visited Podgorica, Montenegro, where they met with the Acting Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice, the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and the Public Prosecutor. While in Montenegro the members also met with NGO representatives and visited two police stations and the Spuž prison (see sect. V below). In view of the fact that the Yugoslav authorities had not exercised power over the territory of Kosovo since the establishment there of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) in 1999, the Committee felt that it was advisable not to include Kosovo in the visit. 160. The Federal and Republican authorities were supportive of the visit and very cooperative. The members visited prisons and places of detention without prior notice and talked in private with detainees. The only difficulty encountered by the members was related to the interviews with pre-trial detainees. By law, such interviews had to be approved by the respective investigating judges, a rule that applied to any person wishing to meet a pre-trial detainee. Unfortunately, the members had not been informed of this requirement before arriving in the country. In the end, the necessary authorizations were obtained and the members were able to interview some pre-trial detainees. However, the Committee members would have wished that the State party had made the necessary arrangements beforehand, so as to avoid delays in their programme of work. 70