73. In addition, the Complainant responds to the assertions of the State that the law
criminalises ill-treatment during detention and that it is easy for the immunities
to be lifted where there is an accusation of a violation of human rights. The
Complainant notes that such immunities apply to police and NISS respectively
and thus the dispute in fact between which was responsible for the arrest does
not affect this argument. The Complainant refers to previous jurisprudence of
the Commission which found that these immunities are an impediment to
initiating action against the NISS or police and that they render remedies
ineffective and inadequate. They further submit that the impunity provisions
sustain a culture of systemic impunity, rendering al possible remedies
discretionary and extraordinary.
74. In relation to the argument of the ease with which immunities can be lifted, the
Complainant states that this is irrelevant to the question of whether there were
remedies, and refers to jurisprudence in which the Commission had decided
that "when a remedy is discretionary, extraordinary and of a non-judicial
nature, the Complainants are not require to pursue it as part of the requirement
of exhaustion of local remedies"'15 and "it would be improper to insist on the
Complainant seeking remedies from a source which does not operate
impartially and has no obligation to decide according to legal principles" .16
They further reiterate the decision of the Commission in a previous case that it
is implausible to think that the heads of the police and NISS would lift the
immunities, and also noting that there is no procedure in legislation for lifting
these immunities, thus making them discretionary. The Complainant thus
submits that the Commission should find Article 56(5) has been complied with.
75. In relation to the arguments of the State on Article 56(6) that the Complainant
had not shown manifested reasonable justification for the delay in filing the
Complaint and that eleven months is not a reasonable time, the Complainant
states that the State did not respond with adequate specificity as to the factors
which determine whether there was a reasonable period, thus failing to
demonstrate that these factors did not amount to a reasonable justification for
the lapse of time.