E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.2 page 49 232. Recommendation (k) stated: Any public official indicted for abuse or torture should be suspended from duty pending trial. 233. According to information received from NGOs, high-ranking public officials are never suspended from their positions pending trials on allegations of torture and ill-treatment. However, some police officers of inferior rank have been suspended pending trials on allegations of torture and ill-treatment. 234. The Government informed that police officers who are released on bail are allowed to carry out the activities set out in writing by the head of the police section. Police officers who are remanded in custody are suspended and required to return their identification cards, badges and any weapons. Article 65 of Law No. 360/2002 was amended in 2004 to provide that the decision as to whether a police officer is to be removed from his post will not be made until after a final judgment has been rendered. Public servants who work for the penitentiary administration and are released on bail are allowed to carry out the tasks and duties set out in writing by the head of their unit. If they are remanded in custody, they are suspended from their posts. Considérant les dispositions de l'article 62 de la Loi n° 303/2004, republiée, concernant le statut des juges et des procureurs, le juge ou le procureur sont suspendus de leur fonction quand une action pénale a été ouverte à leur égard, par ordonnance ou réquisitoire. Ce texte ne distingue pas les catégories d'infractions pour lesquelles a été entamée l'action pénale ; ses dispositions sont donc également applicables aux infractions de torture. 235. Recommendation (l) stated: Priority should be given to enhancing and strengthening the training of all police officials, including non-commissioned officers; the Government should give consideration to requesting assistance from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to train police officials. 236. According to information received from NGOs, police officers still do not receive adequate training on standards for the treatment of persons who have been deprived of their liberty. 237. Recommendation (m) stated: Given the numerous reports of inadequate legal counsel provided by ex officio lawyers, measures should be taken to improve legal aid services. 238. According to information received from NGOs, the Government has not taken any steps to improve legal aid services. The services provided by state-appointed lawyers are inadequate. According to the information received, state-appointed lawyers do not take a pro-active role to provide their clients with an effective defence. Instead, they fulfill a formal role designed to rubber stamp and legitimize the actions of the police and investigators. The state-appointed lawyers do not contact their clients before they are interrogated and make formal statements and they do not initiate visits with their clients whilst they are in pre-trial detention. Furthermore, they do not bring interim applications, fail to familiarize themselves with the case file and are passive during court hearings. 239. The Government informed that the fees for the lawyers carrying out legal aid work were substantially increased on 23 June 2005, as the result of a protocol signed between the Ministry of Justice and the Romanian Bar Union. In addition, legal aid was extended to all non-criminal matters, including complaints against the State.