INTEGRITY OF THE PERSON 16. Section 10 of the Constitution lays down provisions to secure the protection of the law where any person is charged with a criminal offence, amongst which are that he: shall be presumed to be innocent until he is proved or has pleaded guilty; shall be informed as soon as reasonably practicable, in a language that he understands and, in detail, of the nature of the offence; shall be given adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence; shall be permitted to defend himself in person or, at his own expense, by a legal representative of his own choice or, where so prescribed, by a legal representative provided at the public expense; shall be afforded facilities to examine, in person or by his legal representative, the witnesses called by the prosecution before any Court, and to obtain the attendance and carry out the examination of witnesses to testify on his behalf before that Court on the same conditions as those applying to witnesses called by the prosecution; and shall be permitted to have without payment the assistance of an interpreter if he cannot understand the language used at the trial of the offence. He shall further be afforded a fair hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial Court established by law. ARTICLE 5- RIGHTS T O RESPECT OF HUMAN DIGNITY, PROHIBITION OF SLAVERY; SLAVE TRADE; TORTURE CRUEL INHUMAN AND DEGRADING TREATMENT Every individual shall have the right to the respect of the dignity inherent in a human being and to the recognition of his legal status. All forms of exploitation and degradation of man particularly slavery, slave trade, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment shall be prohibited. TORTURE OR CRUEL, INHUMAN AND DEGRADING TREATMENT 17. Section 7 of the Constitution, provides that no person shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading punishment or other such treatment. 18. Mauritius is party to Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) and has fulfilled its obligation to establish National Preventive Mechanisms, which are independent national bodies for the prevention of torture and ill-treatment at domestic level. The National Preventive Mechanism Division was set up under the National Human Rights Commission in 2014. 19. Since June 2015, its National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) Division investigates complaints which are made by a detainee and, where the detainee so requests, investigate the complaint privately. 59