A/HRC/42/39/Add.1 A. Presentation to a court within 24 hours 18. During its 1994 visit, the Working Group recommended that every person who was arrested should be produced before a court within 24 hours so that the lawfulness of his or her detention could be reviewed. The recommendation was implemented in 2001 through the adoption of section 188.1 of the Civil and Criminal Procedure Code. The vast majority of detainees interviewed by the Working Group confirmed that they had been brought before a judge for their first remand hearing within 24 hours of their arrival at a police station. 19. The Working Group regards production before a court as an essential protection against arbitrary detention and other possible abuses of power, such as torture and other forms of ill-treatment, and commends the work of the police in ensuring that the 24-hour time limit is regularly met. B. Open-air prisons 20. Since March 2013, prisoners who have served 75 per cent of their sentence and have demonstrated good conduct are eligible for transfer to an “open-air prison”. Overall 725 male inmates had benefited from such transfers since the introduction of open-air prisons. There were 185 male inmates residing in eight different open-air prisons across Bhutan and 27 female inmates based at the only open-air prison for females in Dawakha, Paro, at the time of the visit. Children of female prisoners are permitted to live in the open-air prison with them up to the age of 9 years. Inmates enjoy more freedom at open-air prisons than in regular prisons, including the ability to earn money by undertaking work in the community, greater access to family members and the ability to move freely in the vicinity of the facility and to use mobile telephones. 21. The open-air prison system is a welcome initiative that has helped to reduce overcrowding in prisons and assisted inmates to prepare for reintegration into society. However, there is a need to expand the use of the open-air prisons by reviewing the eligibility criteria. C. Growth of civil society 22. The Working Group met with representatives of civil society organizations and was encouraged that such organizations are growing in strength and number. It is clear that civil society organizations are taking on an increasingly important role in Bhutan, particularly in providing assistance to economically disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. For example, civil society organizations initiated the establishment of drug rehabilitation centres and have provided support to homes for children in conflict with the law. 23. The Working Group urges the Government to support civil society organizations, including ensuring an adequate environment conducive to the establishment of organizations working on civil and political rights and access to justice, so that they can assist in addressing issues relating to arbitrary detention in Bhutan. For example, support to organizations working on the provision of legal aid is of vital importance. Any support must also include training of more social workers with professional education in social work and counselling, in order for civil society organizations to be able to provide services in a sustainable manner. In that context, the Working Group welcomes the plans of the authorities to introduce a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work into the curriculum of Samtse College of Education. D. Juvenile justice and the diversion programme 24. The Government is to be commended for its efforts in the area of juvenile justice, especially concerning the sentencing of juveniles and the anticipated establishment of family and child benches in the country. 25. In relation to sentencing, it is a positive development that juveniles are sentenced to half the sentence of an adult consistently across the country, in accordance with section 115 5