A/HRC/25/44 D. Administration of justice and conditions of detention 29. In her previous report on the situation of human rights in Guinea, the High Commissioner recommended accelerating the reform of the justice sector (A/HRC/22/39, para. 54 (h)). The Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review recommended that Guinea should improve the conditions in prisons and detention centres, and enhance victims’ access to legal redress and establish special measures for their protection (A/HRC/15/4, paras. 71.21 and 71.64). 30. In 2012, the Government initiated the reform of the judicial system, which continued in 2013 and which resulted, amongst other things, in the establishment of a military court and the adoption by the National Transition Council of two organization acts, one establishing the Supreme Council of Justice and the other governing the judiciary. However, Government has yet to pass implementing legislation for those acts. In addition, substantial steps have been taken to renovate certain prisons and to improve prison food. 31. However, these measures are slow to have an impact on the quality of justice and, more specifically, on access to justice. The protection of victims and witnesses is an area of concern, especially in cases of sexual violence. In 2013, out of the 72 recorded cases, at least a dozen victims reported threats and intimidation and expressed fears of reprisals against their relatives. In several instances, this situation led to the proceedings being abandoned. 32. The legal framework governing detention and the administration of places of detention has recently been modified, in particular the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure. Nevertheless, as the Committee on the Rights of the Child stated at its meeting of 1 February 2013, children are placed in pretrial detention for long periods, and legal assistance is rarely provided because of the shortage of lawyers. Between 2012 and 2013, the number of detainees did not fall significantly, largely because of procedural time limits and, in particular, long periods of pretrial detention. 33. Pressure is also exerted by means of public demonstrations organized with a view to halting proceedings and freeing detainees. The increase in instances of private justice reflects the continuing lack of confidence of citizens in the justice system, which results partly from geographical remoteness, the high cost of judicial remedies, the limited number of magistrates and their uneven distribution throughout the country, as well as the low level of specialization of judges who are outside Conakry. 34. The organization of the judiciary is based on a single judge system, and the criminal justice system is dysfunctional in many regards in spite of the progressive measures taken to remedy the situation. The average length of pretrial detention is not in accordance with Guinea’s national and international legal obligations. In 2013, out of the 2,670 cases followed up, 1,728 had exceeded the legal time limit for pretrial detention (i.e., 64.71 per cent). With the exception of certain emblematic trials, the waiting time for the initial hearing is several months, or even several years; this extends the proceedings and leads to arbitrary or illegal detentions. The vast majority of prefectures to which justices of the peace are assigned have civil prisons, with the exception of Macenta, in Guinée Forestière, Mandiana in Haute Guinée and Koubia and Tougué in Moyenne-Guinée. 35. The Government, in the person of the Minister of Human Rights and Public Liberties, has denounced the poor conditions to which detainees are subjected. Based on the recommendations of the Etats Généraux de la Justice of March 2011, the Government has taken steps to improve the material conditions of detention. In 2013, these steps led to an improvement in prison food and the building or renovation of certain prisons and infrastructure for the judiciary, the police and the gendarmerie. The State has embarked on a process of reform of the security sector, which has started to have a positive impact on the GE.14-10910 9