force in 1989, put exceptionally lethal weapons like the Kalashnikov rifle into the prohibited category (which means that they cannot normally be possessed by private individuals), and introduced stricter controls on the possession and safekeeping of shotguns. The Firearms (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 introduced broadly similar restrictions in Northern Ireland. Article 7 Prisons 76. For convenience, this section of the report deals generally with the procedures for making and investigating complaints against members of the prison and police services, although these procedures are not confined to matters which fall within article 7 of the Covenant. 77. Since the last report, with effect from 1 April 1989, the prison rules which made it a disciplinary offence in England and Wales to: (a) make any false and malicious allegation against an officer; or (b) repeatedly make groundless complaints, have been abolished. The so-called "simultaneous ventilation rule", which required prisoners to put forward their grievances within the internal complaints system at the same time as any letter of complaint might be written to persons or bodies outside the prison system, has also recently been abolished in England and Wales and is being considered as part of a comprehensive review of the prison rules being undertaken in Scotland. 78. The practical consequences of these changes in England and Wales are that prisoners may now make formal complaints in writing to the Governor or to headquarters about ill-treatment by any member of the prison staff without facing the risk of disciplinary action; and they may refer their complaint to an outside body (including the police) without at the same time having to make use of the internal complaints system, with the inhibitions that that implied. When a prisoner makes an allegation, he is assured that it will be fully investigated. CCPR/C/58/Add.6 page 18 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing changes to laws and regulations related to the handling of complaints by prisoners and prison staff, as well as the introduction of stricter controls on firearms. These topics seem to be more closely related to the administration of justice and the protection of human rights than to any of the economic or environmental categories.

**Category**
Humanitarian aid and relief, Health