of their department and with the regional courts and bars of the jurisdiction, as well as, if necessary, with the departmental judicial youth protection service (DPJJ) and, in general, an association. On the one hand, these agreements have made possible the creation of “legal information and advice point (PAD / points d’accès au droit) in a certain number of penal institutions. These places are open to prisoners who have to face up to legal or administrative problems without charge, providing them with a source of information at the prison level. The PADs operate according to three means of action: at the direct request of the persons concerned or a through regular advice sessions held within institution themselves (moreover the PAD adviser is sometimes also a public letter-writer) or even, in certain institutions, by means of a videoconferencing terminal, directly linked, for example, to a legal advice centre. Thus, in one remand prison inspected in November 2011, once the telephone call had been commenced, the person in charge left the room, unless the prisoner wanted their assistance. The advisers answered the telephone and directly answered the questions asked by the prisoner or else called the departments concerned themselves in order to obtain the requested information, immediately if possible. These agreements may also provide for the putting in place of a free legal advice service for prisoners, by lawyers from the bars of the judicial district concerned. In general this legal advice is provided for the purpose of answering all requests for legal information in all legal fields “with the exception of information concerning investigation proceedings in progress, cases in which authorisation for inspection of the documents has to be issued by the public prosecutor’s department at a court of first instance, as well as any cases for which a lawyer has already been appointed by the client or by means of ex-officio appointment of counsel and with the exception of cases which have been referred to a court. In scenarios where the lawyer present at a legal information and advice point ascertains the existence of a situation of this kind, it is incumbent upon them to inform the prisoner that they cannot grant the legal advice”. In practice, it was ascertained that prisoners rarely make use of these free legal consultations. It has been suggested that the impossibility of dealing with cases in progress as well as with possible difficulties of enforcement of sentences perhaps constitutes a brake upon use of the service. Moreover, prisoners can have access to the representatives of the Défenseur des droits ombudsman, who are active in penal institutions. In most cases, they take action concerning cases referred to them by prisoners or their families, and sometimes concerning cases submitted by the SPIP. More exceptionally, they sometimes hold regular sessions, of one half-day per week within particular institutions. 1.2.2.2 The initial interview and the content of the booklet for new arrivals take the place of provision of information to minors placed in young offenders’ institutions In all young offenders’ institutions (CEF), minors take part in an interview on their arrival, bringing together a representative of the management and one of the tutors concerned, if they are present on the site. The presence of parents at this meeting varies according to the CEF. In one institution inspected in September 2012, a first visit by parents to the CEF was compulsory, regional committee for legal information and advice (CDAD) in each department. The latter is a public interest grouping, with the status of a corporation, chaired by the presiding judge of the court of first instance of each department’s administrative centre. The organisation brings together various different actors working in favour of legal information and advice in the department: legal professionals (such as lawyers, civil law notaries, court bailiffs etc.), local authorities in charge of social policies, specialised associations and the State. 160