15 to respect the laws, regulations and procedures persist and have an impact on the quality of services in the public administration. 1.4. Access to justice Many reforms were undertaken in 2012 aimed at strengthening the judiciary. These reforms are based on the strategic orientations of the National Justice Policy (PNJ) adopted in 2010 with the objective of establishing a “credible, equitable, independent, transparent, deconcentrated, competent justice system that is accessible to all”. This policy is operationalized through triennial sectoral plans of action. And to facilitate the implementation of these actions, the Government made huge investments in the justice sector, amounting to eight billion four hundred and forty-four million two hundred and thirty-seven thousand one hundred and thirty-nine (8,444,237,139) CFA francs. Activities carried construction of out the in 2012 included Ouagadougou notably maximum completion security of prison the and commissioning the Maisons d’arrêt et de correction (MAC) of Yako and Ziniaré. Besides, the Government’s desire to humanize the prisons and improve the quality of life of prison inmates was translated by the construction of small infrastructural facilities in the Maisons d’arrêt et de correction (mills, kitchens, boreholes and water towers, infirmaries, quarters for women and minors, etc.), and refurbishing of certain jurisdictions and prisons. On 1st January 2012, six hundred and twenty-four (624) prisoners benefited from a presidential pardon (including 447 commutations of sentences, 177 remaining sentences). This helped in easing congestion in prison establishments by reducing over-population by about 20%. As part of the judiciary reforms, several bills were considered. They include the acts on organization of the profession of judicial officer, the status of notaries and institution of a national torture prevention mechanism.