CAT/C/GBR/CO/5
(b)
Adoption of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, amending Schedule 8 of
the Terrorism Act 2000 and reducing the maximum period of pre-charge detention for
terrorist suspects from 28 to 14 days;
(c)
House of Lords judgement in the case of A and Others v. Secretary of State
for the Home Department (No. 2) [2005], which made clear that evidence obtained by
torture is inadmissible in legal proceedings;
(d)
Criminal Procedure (Legal Advice, Detention and Appeals) (Scotland) Act
2010, which provides for the right to access solicitors for detained persons in Scotland;
(e)
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 2006, which enshrines the right to have
someone informed when arrested in Bermuda;
(f)
Repeal, in 2007, of specific provisions for Northern Ireland contained in Part
VII of the Terrorism Act 2000 as part of the normalization programme undertaken in
Northern Ireland;
(g)
Entry into force, in 2009, of new Constitution Orders enshrining fundamental
rights and freedoms in the Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands (Malvinas) 1 ,
St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, and, in 2012, in Turks & Caicos;
(h)
Entry into force, in 2006, of the Human Rights (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law
2000, the Human Rights (Jersey) Law 2000 and the Isle of Man Human Rights Act 2001,
aimed at incorporating human rights provisions, including the prohibition of torture;
(i)
Establishment of a new Police Complaints (Guernsey) Law 2008, and the
enactment of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law
2006, enhancing witness protection.
6.
The Committee also welcomes actions taken by the State party to amend its policies,
programmes and administrative measures in order to ensure greater protection of human
rights and give effect to the Convention, including:
(a)
Establishment of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, in 2007,
and the Scottish Human Rights Commission, in 2008;
(b)
Appointment of a Prisoner Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, in 2005;
(c)
Adoption of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office Strategy for the
Prevention of Torture (2011-2015);
(d)
Establishment of the Historical Enquiries Team to re-examine deaths in
Northern Ireland attributable to “the Troubles” committed between 1968 and 1998, and
holding of a number of public inquiries into conflict-related deaths;
(e)
Measures undertaken in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland to reform
the criminal justice system and upgrade the prison estate in England and Scotland;
(f)
Adoption of strategies to prevent suicide and self-harm in custody, such as
the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork, introduced between 2005 and 2007 in
England and Wales; the revised suicide risk management strategy ACT2Care, introduced in
2005 in Scotland; as well as the Supporting Prisoners At Risk (SPAR) procedures,
introduced in 2009, and the revised Suicide and Self-Harm Prevention Policy and Standard
Operating Procedures, issued in 2011 in Northern Ireland;
1
There is an ongoing dispute between the governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).
2