90
corresponding provision pointing out that the “Public Prosecutor and the police shall
inform to whoever requests information about the detention of an individual and, if
the case may be, the authority at whose disposal such individual is to be found.”
241. As seen in the annexes submitted by the State, the constitutional reform of
2008 makes reference to a registry of detainees,346 the existence of which is not
covered by eight years of vacatio legis established in the temporary provisions of
such constitutional reform.347 Likewise, according to the record case, in the State of
Mexico there is already a registry system whose purpose is “to inform to whoever
requests information about the detention of an individual.”348 Regarding the
relevance of creating more public access to this registry and keeping it up to date,
the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, in 2010,
recommended:
[T]hat the Offices of Attorney General develop a system for documenting the
chain of custody of detainees, with a standardized record for logging,
immediately and completely, the essential information about the deprivation of
liberty of and individual and about the personnel responsible for that individual
at all times, together with information on the doctors responsible for certifying
the individual’s physical and mental integrity. This should enable the responsible
officials and the persons concerned to have access to this information, with, of
course, due respect for the right to privacy and dignity of persons in custody. All
entries in the record should be signed by an officer and countersigned by a
superior.349
242. Moreover, the Court notes that under the General Act for the Public Security
National System, the data in the Registry may be delivered to whoever requests
information about an individual presently detained; this allows for complying with
the purpose of assisting in the defense of the detainees’ rights. The Tribunal
considers appropriate to take measures in order to avoid that a larger publicity
affects the right to the private life amongst other rights of detainees.
243. In consideration of the foregoing, the Court considers that, within the
framework of the registry of detainees that is kept in Mexico at present, the
following supplementary measures should be adopted so as to reinforce the
operation and usefulness of said system: i) on-going updating; ii) interconnection
between the database of such registry and any other existent database, so that
there is a network allowing the easy identification of the place where the detainees
346
Paragraph five of article 16 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States provides
that: “[I]n cases where the person has been caught in flagrante, any person may detain the suspect and
shall, without delay, hand over the suspect to the immediate authority, which shall just as swiftly hand
the suspect over to the Office of the Public Prosecutor. A registry of detainees will be created […].”.”
Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, supra note 124.
347
The transitory second article of Decree of June 18, 2008 provides, regarding the entry into
force of the constitutional reform, that “[t]he criminal procedural system established in article 16,
paragraphs two and thirteen; 17, paragraphs three, four and six; 19; 20 and 21, paragraph seven of the
Constitution, shall enter into force when the corresponding secondary legislation establishes so, without
exceeding the term of eight years, as of the following day of the publication of this Decree. […].”.” Cf.
Decree by which several provisions of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States are
amended and incorporated, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on June 18, 2008 (record
of annexes to the answer to the application, annex 3, presented in digital format).
348
Article 114 of the General Law of the National Public Security System provides that: “[t]he
Public Prosecutor’s Office and the police shall inform to whoever requests information about the
detention of an individual and, if applicable, the authority at whose disposal such individual is to be
found […].”.” (record of annexes of the answer to the application, annex 3, presented in digital format).
349
Cf. United Nations. Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture. Report of May 31, 2010 on the
visit to Mexico (CAT/OP/MEX/1), para. 119.
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