CAT/OP/HUN/2/Add.1
related to the NPM. The authorized public servant staff members shall have outstanding
knowledge in the field of the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty or have at least
five years of professional experience.8
7.
The administration and preparation related to the tasks of the Commissioner for
Fundamental Rights, including those of the NPM, shall be performed by the Office of the
Commissioner for Fundamental Rights (hereinafter the Office). 9 Pursuant to the
Organizational and Operational Rules of the Office, established by way of a normative
instruction 10 by the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, solely responsible for the
performance of the NPM’s tasks, the staff members of the Office authorized on a
permanent basis to carry out tasks related to the NPM shall perform their work within the
frameworks of a separate organizational unit, the OPCAT National Preventive Mechanism
Department.11
8.
Within the Office, the performance of the NPM’s tasks is separated not only
organizationally, but also functionally. The recruitment and selection of staff members
authorized to perform tasks related to the NPM are conducted in accordance with the
special provisions of Act CXI of 2011 on the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights
(hereinafter the Ombudsman Act). 12 To obtain access to classified data necessary for the
performance of their tasks, staff members authorized to perform the tasks related to the
NPM shall have the personal security clearance certificate of the required level. 13 Data
storage media containing confidential information gathered by the NPM are stored in the
Office separately, in accordance with special rules of procedure. 14
9.
As a general rule, members of the OPCAT National Preventive Mechanism
Department do not conduct inquiries into complaints. However, submissions containing
data or information on the infringement of the provisions of Article 21, Paragraph 1 of the
OPCAT on the prohibition of sanctions are investigated by the staff members of the
Department authorized to perform tasks related to the NPM. 15
10.
The NPM conducts its visit based on a schedule of visits adopted during the
previous year. When proceeding in person, the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights shall
notify the management of the place of detention and the detainees held therein that he is
proceeding within the competence of the NPM. In his absence, the commission letter of the
multidisciplinary visiting delegation shall clarify that the members thereof are authorized to
perform tasks related to the NPM. The commission letter of the visiting delegation also
reminds the places of detention and the authorities of the aforementioned prohibition
stipulated in Article 21, Paragraph 1 of the OPCAT. 16 It is also indicated on the cover and
in the text of the reports on the visits that they are published by the Commissioner for
Fundamental Rights proceeding in the capacity of the NPM.
11.
The Commissioner for Fundamental Rights has to report to the Parliament on his
performance of the tasks of the NPM. 17 The Parliament shall debate the report of the
Commissioner for Fundamental Rights within the year of its submission. 18 Pieces of
information related to the performance of the tasks of the NPM are regularly published on
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Section 39/D, Subsection (3) of the Ombudsman Act.
Section 41(1) of the Ombudsman Act.
See Section 23, Subsection (4), Paragraph f) of Act CXXX of 2010 on Legislation and Section 41(3)
of the Ombudsman Act.
By virtue of section 26(2) of Act CXXX of 2010 on Legislation, the normative instruction on the
Organizational and Operational Rules of the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights,
containing my directive on the establishment of the OPCAT National Preventive Mechanism
Department, shall be published in the Hungarian Official Gazette.
Section 39/D, Subsections (3) and (4) of the Ombudsman Act.
Section 39/D, Subsection (2) of the Ombudsman Act.
Article 21. Paragraph 2 of the OPCAT.
E.g., Case No. AJB-3680/2017.
“No authority or official shall order, apply, permit or tolerate any sanction against any person or
organization for having communicated to the national preventive mechanism any information,
whether true or false, and no such person or organization shall be otherwise prejudiced in any way”.
Section 40(2) a) of the Ombudsman Act.
Section 40(3) of the Ombudsman Act.
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