E/CN.4/1996/35/Add.2 page 13 46. The Special Rapporteur believes that Chilean legislation should comply with the following provisions of the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment: "Principle 24. A proper medical examination shall be offered to a detained or imprisoned person as promptly as possible after his admission to the place of detention or imprisonment, and thereafter medical care and treatment shall be provided whenever necessary. This care and treatment shall be provided free of charge. Principle 25. A detained or imprisoned person or his counsel shall, subject only to reasonable conditions to ensure security and good order in the place of detention or imprisonment, have the right to request or petition a judicial or other authority for a second medical examination or opinion. Principle 27. Non-compliance with these principles in obtaining evidence shall be taken into account in determining the admissibility of such evidence against a detained or imprisoned person." 47. Incommunicado detention 8/ may be ordered by the judge for the duration of the detention, and if the detention is transformed into pre-trial detention, it may be prolonged for the full 10-day period (art. 299), with the possibility of a further extension of a maximum of five days to gather additional evidence for the case (art. 300). The person held incommunicado may confer with his lawyer in the presence of a judge, albeit solely for the purpose of securing measures to end the incommunicado detention. Police Department officials told the Special Rapporteur that it was less and less necessary to hold people incommunicado for such long periods, since detainees’ statements no longer constituted the most important evidence in the trial; in addition, the need to guard the detainee entailed additional responsibility which the Police Department preferred not to assume. 48. Where assistance from a lawyer is concerned, article 293 stipulates that detainees or prisoners, including prisoners held incommunicado, have the right to have their family, lawyer or a person of their choice informed of the fact by the police or court at whose disposal they have been placed. The official in charge of the police or prison establishment in which the detainee is held before being brought before the court may not deny him the right to confer with his lawyer, in the presence of the official, for up to 30 minutes each day, though only about the treatment he has received, his conditions of detention and the rights to which he is entitled. If a person is held incommunicado, article 303 stipulates that he may confer with his lawyer in the presence of the judge, albeit solely with a view to ending the incommunicado detention. 49. These provisions, which were introduced by Act No. 19.047, imply a considerable improvement in the protection of the rights of detainees, particularly as regards protection against torture or ill-treatment, in comparison with the previous situation in which detainees had no right at all to confer with their lawyer during the periods in question. Non-governmental sources nevertheless informed the Special Rapporteur that the provisions were inadequate on several counts. First of all, lawyers’ visits to detainees