E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.6 page 8 confessions/extract testimony by violence.9 In the same decision, the SPP held that prosecution under article 248 was limited to causing injury (qingshang) to the detained person; instigating the suicide of the detained person or mental disorder or other serious consequences; beating or corporally punishing and maltreating more than three times or more than three detainees; using cruel methods (canren shouduan), having an evil impact; or instigating detainees to beat, corporally punish or maltreat other detainees involving the above.10 17. The CL does not clearly reflect the following elements of torture as defined in article 1 of CAT: mental torture;11 the involvement of a public official directly or at the instigation or consent or with the acquiescence of a public official or another person acting in an official capacity; and infliction of the act for a specific purpose, such as extracting a confession, obtaining information, punishment, intimidation, discrimination. Penalization of acts of torture and other forms of ill-treatment 18. The penalization of acts of torture is stipulated in articles 247 and 248 of the CL.12 Other regulations complement the CL,13 including the Regulations on the Use of Police Instruments and Weapons by the People’s Police.14 The Supreme People’s Court (SPC) has also issued Measures concerning the Punishment of Judicial Personnel of the People’s Court Who Break the Law during Trials, and a set of Disciplinary Measures Concerning Judicial Personnel of the People’s Court.15 The Rules on the Handling of Criminal Cases by Public Security Authorities16 aim at ensuring a correct implementation of the Criminal Procedure Law and contain a number of safeguards for detainees. 19. However, the Public Security Organs Regulations on Pursuing Responsibility for Policemen’s Errors in Implementing the Law and other regulations stipulate that “responsibility for ‘errors’, including forcing confessions (bigong) or testimony, will not be pursued where the law is unclear or judicial interpretations inconsistent; where the errors are made as a result of unforeseen or irresistible reasons; where the policeman was carrying out an order from a superior; or where the policeman was handling a case according to regulations on cooperation with other units”. Safeguards during arrest and pretrial detention 20. The Criminal Procedure Law (CPL) was revised in 199617 with a view to, inter alia, strengthening guarantees against torture and was supplemented in 1998 by a document on the comprehensive interpretation of certain sensitive and controversial issues.18 Notification of custody 21. Articles 64 and 71 of the CPL stipulate that, in case of detention or arrest, the detained or arrested person’s family or work unit must be informed of the reason for the detention or arrest and the whereabouts within 24 hours. However, this safeguard may be limited in cases of possible impediment to investigation or impossibility to notify. Rule 108 of the Rules on the Handling of Criminal Cases by Public Security Authorities also stipulates that detention notification may be withheld in certain cases.19