recently approved constitutional reform of the criminal justice system, currently being implemented, statements of accused persons must be taken by the appropriate judicial authority. Nevertheless, the Subcommittee urges the State party to expedite the reform process in order to prevent situations in which torture or ill-treatment might occur while this change relating to statements of accused persons is being incorporated into all federal and state laws and put into effect throughout the country. 1.The Constitution of Mexico and constitutional reform 43.The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Mexico was reformed in 2008 with a view to converting the criminal justice system from an inquisitorial system to an adversarial one with oral proceedings. This constitutional reform incorporates positive aspects that have the potential to prevent the practice of torture and ill-treatment in the State party. The Subcommittee wishes to highlight the following reforms: A record of detention must be established immediately (art. 16). Public defence services have been strengthened (art. 17). All hearings must be held in the presence of a judge, who may not delegate the admission of evidence to any other person (art. 20, para. A, sect. II). For the purposes of sentencing, only evidence admitted during the trial hearing shall be considered, which means that the practice of averiguación previa (preliminary investigation), in which the public prosecutor produces and evaluates the evidence introduced into the proceedings, can be eliminated (art. 20, para. A, sect. III). Evidence must be presented in a public proceeding (art. 20, para. A, sect. IV). Any evidence obtained by means that violate fundamental rights, including torture, shall be inadmissible (art. 20, para. A, sect. IX). The presumption of innocence is recognized (art. 20, para. B, sect. I). The right of any person charged with a criminal offence to speak or to remain silent is recognized (art. 20, para. B, sect. II). The exercise of the right to remain silent cannot be used against a person charged with a criminal offence (art. 20, para. B, sect. II). Confessions obtained from a person not assisted by legal counsel shall be inadmissible as evidence (art. 20, para. B, sect. II). Immediately upon arrest, and at the time of their appearance before a public prosecutor or a judge, accused persons must be informed of their rights (art. 20, para. B, sect. III). Access to effective legal counsel is recognized as a right of persons charged with criminal offences (art. 20, para. B, sect. VIII). The conduct of public security institutions shall be governed by respect for the human rights recognized in the Constitution (art. 21). The position of sentence enforcement judge has been created (art. 21), the concept of social rehabilitation has been replaced by that of social reintegration and inmates’ rights have been expanded to include protection of their health and access to sports activities (art. 18). In addition, the Subcommittee notes the approval by the Justice Commission of the Chamber of Deputies of a bill on federal enforcement of criminal sanctions, the reading of which before the plenary of the Chamber remained pending at the conclusion of its session in April 2009. 44.However, some aspects of the constitutional reform are of concern to the Subcommittee as they create situations of vulnerability and risk of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The Subcommittee recommends that the following aspects of the constitutional reform — which will be explored in greater depth in this report in relation to the prevention of torture — be reviewed and modified: The practice of arraigo (investigative or pre-charge detention) is sanctioned by the Constitution in cases in which an individual is accused of participating in organized crime (art. 16). See the section below on arraigo The constitutional definition of “organized crime” is broad and ambiguous and only partially reproduces the definition established under the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime Preventive detention is made mandatory for certain offences, without regard to the specific characteristics of the case (Constitution, art. 19) The authority that investigates criminal responsibility continues to have authority also to detain accused persons during the pretrial phase 45.The Subcommittee believes that the success of constitutional reform in the State party will depend largely on budget appropriations and the allocation of sufficient resources for its effective implementation, coupled with training and awareness-raising to counter the resistance inherent in any change process, particularly with regard to the institutions, practices and concepts to be reformed or redefined. These awareness-raising processes should reinforce the principle of innocence, the effective elimination of preliminary investigation and the current powers of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in that regard, the strengthening of public defence, the reduction of preventive detention and the extension of due process to the penalty enforcement phase. 46.The Subcommittee has noted that the constitutional reform has established stronger safeguards during the criminal investigation