CAT/C/AUT/CO/3
page 2
4.
The Committee notes with satisfaction the ongoing efforts made by the State party to
revise its legislation and adopt other necessary measures in order to ensure better protection of
human rights and give effect to the Convention, including:
(a)
The adoption of the Criminal Procedure Reform Act and the amendments to the
Code of Criminal Procedure, both of which will come into effect on 1 January 2008. In
particular, the Committee welcomes the new provisions regarding:
(i)
The prohibition of the use of statements that were obtained by means of
torture, coercion, deception or other inadmissible methods of interrogation
to the detriment of the defendant;
(ii)
The express reference to the right of the defendant to remain silent;
(iii)
The right to contact a lawyer prior to the interrogation;
(iv)
The right of the defendant to be assisted by an interpreter;
(v)
The provisions regarding the separation of remand prisoners from other
prisoners;
(b)
The issuing of an information sheet for detainees in 26 different languages
informing them about their rights;
(c)
The new measures taken to improve conditions of detention, including the
establishment of “open units” in police detention centres;
(d)
The new regulations on deportation procedures banning, inter alia, the use of any
means blocking the respiratory system and providing for the medical examination of the alien
prior to the flight, as well as for the observance of the proportionality principle in exercising
measures of coercion. In particular, the Committee welcomes the involvement of relevant
non-governmental organizations during the deportation process;
(e)
The new measures adopted to prevent ill-treatment of persons in police custody,
including the ongoing revision of the Detention Regulations with a view to introducing
alternative means of restraint, as well as the introduction of human rights aspects in training
programmes for law enforcement personnel;
(f)
The new initiatives taken to address and prevent trafficking in human beings, in
particular that victims of trafficking are regularly granted residence permits on humanitarian
grounds, as well as the fact that the State party’s authorities have not restricted the definition of
trafficking only to cases of sexual exploitation but include other forms of exploitation;
(g)
The publication in July 2005 of the last report of the European Committee for the
Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the State party’s
responses to it.