CAT/C/PRT/CO/4
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(b) Guarantee that the time spent in custody for identification purposes
(6 hours maximum) is deducted from the total period of custody, if applicable
(48 hours); and
(c) Include in its legislation a provision explicitly requiring the Public
Prosecutor’s Office to order a forensic report in all cases where it has knowledge of a
situation of ill-treatment of a person held in custody.
Pretrial detention
8.
While taking note of the explanations given by the Portuguese delegation, in particular its
reference to article 5 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms (“European Convention on Human Rights”), the Committee is concerned by the State
party’s definition of pretrial detention which encompasses not only detention of persons awaiting
trial but also of persons tried in first instance whose sentence has not yet been confirmed or
quashed by a court of appeal. Such language is liable to cause confusion regarding the actual
duration of pretrial detention as it is understood by the Committee and the number of detainees
awaiting trial (arts. 2 and 16).
The State party should envisage taking the necessary measures to distinguish pretrial
detention from detention of persons who have been tried in a court of first instance
and have appealed against their sentence, in order to avoid any confusion which could
lead the Committee to believe that the Convention has been violated.
Detention incommunicado
9.
While welcoming the fact that detainees can no longer be held incommunicado, totally or
relatively, during pretrial detention, the Committee notes that under article 143 (4) of the new
Code of Criminal Procedure, in cases of terrorism or violent or highly organized crime, the
Public Prosecutor’s Office can order that detainees be held totally incommunicado - excepting
their access to legal counsel - until such time as they are brought before the courts (art. 2).
The State party should ensure that detention incommunicado prior to appearance in
court in cases of terrorism or organized violence is explicitly and strictly regulated by
law and subject to stringent judicial supervision.
Universal jurisdiction
10. While acknowledging with satisfaction that article 5 of the new Penal Code permits the
State party to exercise universal jurisdiction in respect of acts of torture committed outside its
territory, the Committee notes with concern that such jurisdiction is exercised by the
Attorney-General, whose Office, although autonomous, is connected with the Executive branch
(art. 5).
The State party should consider entrusting the exercise of universal jurisdiction in
respect of serious violations of international law to an independent tribunal.