STATE TREATY ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIONAL MECHANISM OF ALL THE LÄNDER IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE 3 OF THE OPTIONAL PROTOCOL OF 18 DECEMBER 2002 TO THE CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT OF 25 JUNE prevention of torture”). These mechanisms are to examine the treatment of persons who have been deprived of their liberty. Since competence for measures entailing deprivation of liberty in the Federal Republic of Germany is very largely a matter for the Länder, such mechanisms are to be established by the Länder and provided with the appropriate powers. It appears expedient in place of individual commissioners of the Länder to create with this Treaty a joint national mechanism within the meaning of Article 3 of the Optional Protocol (Commission) which is able to act uniformly vis-à-vis the Federation, the Länder and the United Nations. Additionally, the Federation establishes a Federal Agency for the Prevention of Torture as a further national mechanism which shall perform the corresponding tasks for individuals who have been deprived of their liberty under federal jurisdiction. The Commission shall work closely together with this agency, in particular in reporting. The Commission is to use the infrastructure of the Centre for Criminology (Kriminologische Zentralstelle e.V.) as extensively as possible. The necessary secretariat is to be established with the Centre for Criminology. Article 1 Establishment of the Commission for the Prevention of Torture The Länder concluding the present Treaty shall establish a Joint Commission for the Prevention of Torture which shall be designated to the United Nations as the national mechanism for the prevention of torture within the meaning of Article 3 of the Optional Protocol. Article 2 Tasks and powers (1) The Commission shall have the task of visiting places of detention within the meaning of Article 4 of the Optional Protocol under the jurisdiction of the Länder in order to prevent torture, drawing attention to problems and where appropriate making recommendations for improvements. (2) The members of the Commission, individually or together, shall have the powers named in Article 19 of the Optional Protocol. The Länder shall grant to them the rights and powers named in Article 20 of the Optional Protocol. (3) The Commission may make recommendations to the competent authorities in order to improve the conditions for persons who have been deprived of their liberty. The authorities shall be obliged to carefully examine these recommendations and to make a statement to the Commission within a suitable period. (4) The Commission shall draft an Annual Report together with the Federal Agency for the Prevention of Torture, which shall be forwarded to the Federal Government, the Land Governments, the German Federal Parliament and the Land Parliaments. Article 3 Confidentiality The members of the Commission shall be obliged to maintain the confidentiality of information becoming known to them within the framework of their tasks, also beyond the duration of their period of office. Article 4 Members (1) The Commission shall consist of four members who act on an honorary basis. The members shall be independent and not subject to any instructions. The number of the Commission members may be changed by a unanimous resolution of the Conference of Ministers of Justice. (2) The members of the Commission shall be nominated by the Conference of Ministers of Justice for a four-year period of office. In derogation therefrom, on nomination of the first four members of the Commission, two members shall be nominated for four years and two members for two years. A renewed nomination shall be possible. They may lay down their office at any time. A member of the Commission may only be dismissed against his/her will prior to expiry of his/her period of office subject to the provisos of sections 21 and 24 of the German Judiciary Act by a unanimous resolution of the Conference of Ministers of Justice. In such cases, the Conference of Ministers of Justice shall nominate a successor for the remaining period of office. (3) The Commission shall submit its reports and recommendations uniformly. The chair of the Commission shall be held by a member of the Commission who shall each be nominated for two years by the Conference of Ministers of Justice. A renewed nomination shall be possible. (4) The members of the Commission shall be persons with acknowledged expertise in the field of the prison service or of the placement of offenders with mental disorders in psychiatric institutions, the police, psychiatry, criminology or in comparable fields. It should be ensured in the composition of the Commission that members are represented who are versed in various specialist fields. A balanced representation of the genders shall be ensured. The 112