A/HRC/6/19 page 92 Information orally submitted to the group of experts on 15 November 2007 The Police Bill 2007 and the SAF Bill 2007 were received from the Government on 9 November 2007 and the Government provided further explanations of these bills to the group on 15 November 2007. Information Received from Other Sources on Recommendation 3.2 The two Drafts of the Police Bill and the SAF Bill provide legal immunities for state agents. Both laws shall be subject to legal reform and harmonization with international human rights standards and the Bill of Rights of the Interim constitution of the Republic of the Sudan 2005. Article 45 of the Police draft Bill (formerly Article 46 of the Police Forces Bill) was taken verbatim and maintains the same immunities for the Police. The Article forbids any ‘criminal procedure against a police officer accused of an incident representing a criminal offence committed while performing his official duty or because of his official act’ unless approved by the Minister or his delegate. This replicates Article 46 of the 1999 Act. In principle, police officers remain subject to national law. Whenever there is information that an infraction may amount to a criminal offence, the alleged offence should be reported immediately to the appropriate investigation and prosecution authorities. If there is information that a criminal offence has been committed but the criminal investigation authorities find that there is not enough evidence to charge the suspected officer, he or she may still be subjected to disciplinary procedures. Thus, a distinction has to be made for normal disciplinary procedures and acts of criminality which entails criminal investigation. In other words, misconduct involving criminal offences should be dealt with under criminal law all other misconduct can be dealt with under disciplinary proceedings. Article 45 represents one of the impunity clauses protecting the police. It also raises an accountability issue. Accountability to oversight institutions, which may include courts, legislatures, media and complaint review boards, is an important underpinning of democratic policing. Individual officers at all hierarchical levels not only accountable to their supervisors for their own conduct but their conduct must accord to with the national law and with professional codes of ethnics and discipline. In the case of criminal conduct all officers shall be accountable to the court. Article 45 not only raises the issue of criminal conduct of police and immunity from persecution, but also internal mechanisms of accountability of police Managers or Ministers. The Sudanese Armed Forces Draft Bill, 2007 Article 34 (Institution of Legal Proceedings against personnel) provides that: (1) There shall not be deemed an offence any act, which emanates from any officer, or soldier in good faith, in the course, or by reason of performing the business of his/her post, or discharge of any duty imposed thereon, or any act done thereby, under any power delegated, or conferred thereon, under the Criminal Procedure Act, or any other law in force, any regulations or orders made under any one of them.