phase. The Subcommittee therefore urges the State party to encourage state-level legislatures to develop rules for implementing the reform in order to ensure that it is judicial authorities, not prosecuting authorities, who take statements from detained persons accused of any type of criminal offence. The Subcommittee also recommends that, in addition to formal controls to prevent torture, awareness training be carried out on the eradication of all forms of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment during investigation or at any other time when people are under the responsibility of officials of the Office of the Public Prosecutor. The Subcommittee urges the State party to expedite the process of constitutional reform in accordance with the suggestions made here and requests that it keep the Subcommittee apprised of its progress. 2.Federal and state legislation 47.The Federal Act to Prevent and Punish Torture, enacted in 1986, was superseded by a new Federal Act on the Prevention and Punishment of Torture in 1991, which was last revised in 1994. The aim of the Act is to prevent torture. Article 3 defines the offence of torture as follows: “A public servant commits the offence of torture if, in exercise of their official functions, they inflict severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, on an individual in order to obtain information or a confession from the tortured individual or a third party, or to inflict punishment for an act which that individual has or is suspected of having committed, or to coerce them into engaging or not engaging in a specific act. “Discomfort or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions, or arising from a legitimate act of authority, shall not be considered torture.” 48.The Act does not exempt anyone from responsibility for the crime of torture, nor does it allow anyone to invoke an order from a superior officer or other authority as justification for torture. It recognizes the right of a detained person to be examined by a forensic physician, who must issue the relevant certificate and, where applicable, communicate any evidence of torture to the competent authority. The Act establishes that any confession or information obtained through torture is inadmissible as evidence; the same applies to confessions made before a police authority, public prosecutor or judicial authority without the presence of a defender, advocate or other authorized representative of the accused person and, if necessary, an interpreter. The Act also establishes the obligation of persons who commit the offence of torture to cover certain expenses and to repair the damage and compensate the victims or their dependents. Finally, it requires all public servants who in the exercise of their functions become aware of an act of torture to report that act immediately. 49.Article 194 of the Federal Code of Criminal Procedure classifies torture as a serious offence. 50.Under articles 215 and 225 of the Federal Criminal Code, public officials who compel an accused person to make a statement through the use of solitary confinement, intimidation or torture commit the offence of abuse of authority or an offence against justice. 51.The General Act Establishing the Basis for Coordination of the National Public Security System establishes that members of law enforcement agencies have a duty to refrain, at all times and in all circumstances, from inflicting, tolerating or permitting acts of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 52.The Organization Act of the Office of the Attorney-General of the Republic provides that officials of the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office, federal investigative police agents and experts have a duty to prevent acts of physical or psychological torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment from being inflicted, tolerated or permitted. In addition, this law imposes a duty to report any such acts immediately. 53.The Federal Public Defenders Act establishes that any complaints lodged by public defenders or by detained persons or inmates in detention or prison facilities alleging torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or any other human rights violations committed by a public servant are to be reported to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, to the authority responsible for detention or prison facilities and to human rights bodies, as applicable. 54.The definition of judicial confession under the Code of Military Justice establishes that such confessions may not be obtained through solitary confinement, intimidation or torture. 55.At the state level, the laws of all Mexican states and the Federal District make torture a crime. Fourteen states have specific legislation to prevent and punish torture. The state of Guerrero criminalizes torture under its law on human rights bodies. The other 16 states and the Federal District criminalize torture in their criminal codes. 56.The adoption of the Federal Act on the Prevention and Punishment of Torture has been very influential in the definitions of the offence of torture adopted by state-level legislatures. Indeed, the federal law has become the main legislative reference for the drafting of legislation at state and local levels. It is therefore important to take a closer look at some aspects of the definition of the offence at the federal level in the light of the definition contained in the United Nations Convention against Torture and the Inter-American Convention on the matter. 57.From a normative standpoint, the Subcommittee has observed some discrepancies between federal and state laws with regard to the definition of torture. Moreover, there are elements from both the United Nations Convention and the Inter-American Convention relating to the concept and to the effective prevention of torture through its criminalization which should be incorporated into the primary and secondary legislation at both levels. In relation to the obligation to adapt domestic legislation to international standards through legal and administrative reforms or other measures, it should be borne in mind that the concept of torture encompasses any intentional infliction of physical or mental suffering in a broader context and not only in situations of investigation or interrogation, and that the penalty imposed should be