Safeguards

Access and contact with lawyer

Ensuring that all detainees have prompt access to a lawyer is a key safeguard of their rights in prison, whether they are in pre-trial detention or convicted of an offence. In addition to assisting criminal suspects to prepare their defense, the right to access a lawyer can help protect…
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Access to a judge

Ensuring all persons deprived of their liberty have prompt access to a judge is an important safeguard against arbitrary detention and to ensure that the rights of detainees are respected. The right of detainees in prison to access a judge includes 1) the right of criminal suspects to be brought…
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Complaints procedures

Detainees have the right to make complaints about any aspect of their treatment or conditions in detention to the prison authorities and independent bodies. Effective complaints procedures help ensure that detainees’ rights are respected and act as a fundamental safeguard against ill-treatment…
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Files and records

There are different types of records kept in prisons, and each performs a particular function. The office register and/or the prison records, the daily log (that contains all information linked to daily life in the establishment) as well as individual detainee files are essential documents in…
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Inspection mechanisms

Deprivation of liberty, which is characterised by an imbalance of power between representatives of the authority and detainees, results in risks of all types of abuse, including ill-treatment and torture.  These risks are further heightened because of the closed and isolated nature of…
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Right to information

The right to information is important for legal proceedings for persons in pre-trial detention (including the information required for an appeal) as well as when it comes to the rights, obligations and rules of life in detention. The right to information is essential for all persons…
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