The Government informed the Special Rapporteur that on 15 October 1997 the Supreme Court of Justice declared the Vagrants Act null and void.

(g) Individuals who are obviously vagrants and who cannot prove that they have sufficient resources to support themselves during their stay in the country

Torture may also be inflicted against persons under administrative detention in application of the Law of Vagrants and Crooks (ley de Vagos y Maleantes), a law that the Special Rapporteur hopes will soon be abolished.

He explained that the establishment currently held 33 detainees under the Law of Vagrants and Crooks (Ley de Vagos y Maleantes) Under the terms of this law, against which there are currently several actions of unconstitutionality as well as a reform project, the administrative authority of a State can order the detention, even for several years, of individuals merely on the grounds of being considered dangerous.