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55. Medicines should be administered only for necessary treatment on medical grounds and, when
possible, after having obtained the informed consent of the juvenile concerned. In particular, they
must not be administered with a view to eliciting information or a confession, as a punishment or as a
means of restraint. Juveniles shall never be testees in the experimental use of drugs and treatment.
The administration of any drug should always be authorized and carried out by qualified medical
personnel.
I. Notification of illness, injury and death
56. The family or guardian of a juvenile and any other person designated by the juvenile have the right
to be informed of the state of health of the juvenile on request and in the event of any important
changes in the health of the juvenile. The director of the detention facility should notify immediately
the family or guardian of the juvenile concerned, or other designated person, in case of death, illness
requiring transfer of the juvenile to an outside medical facility, or a condition requiring clinical care
within the detention facility for more than 48 hours. Notification should also be given to the consular
authorities of the State of which a foreign juvenile is a citizen.
57. Upon the death of a juvenile during the period of deprivation of liberty, the nearest relative should
have the right to inspect the death certificate, see the body and determine the method of disposal of
the body. Upon the death of a juvenile in detention, there should be an independent inquiry into the
causes of death, the report of which should be made accessible to the nearest relative. This inquiry
should also be made when the death of a juvenile occurs within six months from the date of his or her
release from the detention facility and there is reason to believe that the death is related to the period
of detention.
58. A juvenile should be informed at the earliest possible time of the death, serious illness or injury of
any immediate family member and should be provided with the opportunity to attend the funeral of
the deceased or go to the bedside of a critically ill relative.
J. Contacts with the wider community
59. Every means should be provided to ensure that juveniles have adequate communication with the
outside world, which is an integral part of the right to fair and humane treatment and is essential to
the preparation of juveniles for their return to society. Juveniles should be allowed to communicate
with their families, friends and other persons or representatives of reputable outside organizations, to
leave detention facilities for a visit to their home and family and to receive special permission to leave
the detention facility for educational, vocational or other important reasons. Should the juvenile be
serving a sentence, the time spent outside a detention facility should be counted as part of the period
of sentence.
60. Every juvenile should have the right to receive regular and frequent visits, in principle once a week
and not less than once a month, in circumstances that respect the need of the juvenile for privacy,
contact and unrestricted communication with the family and the defence counsel.
61. Every juvenile should have the right to communicate in writing or by telephone at least twice a
week with the person of his or her choice, unless legally restricted, and should be assisted as
necessary in order effectively to enjoy this right. Every juvenile should have the right to receive
correspondence.
62. Juveniles should have the opportunity to keep themselves informed regularly of the news by
reading newspapers, periodicals and other publications, through access to radio and television
programmes and motion pictures, and through the visits of the representatives of any lawful club or
organization in which the juvenile is interested.
K. Limitations of physical restraint and the use of force
63. Recourse to instruments of restraint and to force for any purpose should be prohibited, except as
set forth in rule 64 below.