• • • Advocate for legislative reforms, in particular with a view to strengthening the rights of victims of torture to a timely resolution of their cases, for example by providing that the outcome of a civil reparation claim is independent from that of a related criminal case; Advocate for institutional reforms to strengthen the administration of justice, in particular by promoting access to justice and enhancing the capacity of the judiciary to dispose of cases in a timely manner; Upon exhaustion of domestic remedies or where proceedings are unduly prolonged, bring cases before international human rights treaty bodies where possible with a view to obtaining effective remedies for the torture victim(s) in the case at hand and to setting precedents that may prompt national authorities to change their practice. - Non-judicial proceedings • • • Seek to use courts or other competent bodies to prompt non-judicial bodies, such as national human rights institutions or truth and reconciliation commissions to consider claims expeditiously; Bring applications before courts or other competent bodies with a view to ensuring timely compliance and enforcement by the government or other responsible national bodies; Advocate for reforms seeking to introduce timelines, oversight mechanisms or even binding obligations to act on non-judicial decisions within a given timeframe so as to avoid unnecessary delays between the decision and its implementation. Governments The responsible government bodies should take the following steps in seeking to implement relevant international standards of opening investigations into torture allegations promptly and of conducting investigations and prosecutions expeditiously: - Prompt and expeditious investigations and prosecutions: - - - - Adopt an anti-torture policy, which includes a commitment to combating impunity by responding promptly to torture allegations and by seeking to investigate, prosecute and punish perpetrators of torture expeditiously; Analyse existing law and practice with a view to identifying legal obstacles to effective investigations, such as amnesty laws, and/or procedures to expedite investigations and prosecutions, in particular those that strengthen victims’ rights in proceedings; following consultation with experts and civil society, introduce laws seeking to address the shortcomings identified; Identify the causes for delays in responding to torture allegations and in investigating and prosecuting torture cases, and implement changes to the institutional structure, the capacity of bodies and applicable procedures; set up an independent body either tasked with promptly investigating allegations of torture or with overseeing the conduct of investigating bodies, in particular their effectiveness in handling torture cases; Commit a sufficient amount of finances in the annual budgets set aside for the effective implementation of said measures. 39