Implementation of the Duties and Powers of the National Preventive Mechanism in 2012 During the visit to Novo mesto Unit of Ljubljana Prison in 2009, the NPM discovered that, due to overcrowding, one of the detainees had to sleep on a mattress laid on the bare floor. Unfortunately, a similar situation was discovered this time during our visit to Koper Prison; statements made by detainees were raising concerns, specifically, that after the admission to the facility, some had to sleep on a mattress laid on bare floor even though the institution had enough beds at its disposal. This was confirmed by the Prison’s acting director when concluding the visit, and later by the Director General of the Slovenian Prison Administration who also provided an explanation that official capacity in this institution had changed due to a significant increase in the number of convicted persons and the possibility of their accommodation in wings and the need to extend a wing into a section that would be dedicated for detention for a transitional period of time. But the Director General agreed that, in Koper Prison, detainees sleeping on a mattress laid on a bare floor must not happen again since an additional bed does not take up any more space in a room than a mattress laid on the bare floor. The replacement of worn-out mattresses had to be proposed in some other institutions (Maribor Prison, Koper Prison, Celje Prison and Juvenile Prison). The proposal to replace old metal bed frames and cupboard was especially pointed out in two cases (Ig Open Unit of Ljubljana Prison, Nova Gorica Unit of Koper Prison) and in Ljubljana Prison, particularly in the detention wing, it was repeatedly found that not every person confined had his/her own cupboard provided for storing his/her personal belongings and that the shelves in the cupboards are allocated to and by the detainees themselves. The majority, or precisely, five institutions were troubled by overcrowding. In this regard, the situation was the worst in Ljubljana Prison where the number of convicted persons was at one time greater than the official capacity dedicated to them, and at that time the section allocated for detainees was overcrowded by approximately 40 per cent. In regard to this issue it was pointed out that the above mentioned prison and PARS, in spite of the welcome reduction in the agreed maximum number of persons imprisoned from 245 to 209, must constantly strive to keep any breach of the official capacity to a minimum. The overcrowding of the institution was also high in the Novo mesto Unit, the highest in the detention section, where it was 75 per cent, whilst the exceeding of the official capacity in the wing for convicted prisoners reached 8 per cent. The capacity was exceeded by the same per cent in Maribor Prison, with the overcrowding of the wing for detainees by 41 per cent. In Koper Prison, the capacity for detention was exceeded by 50 per cent, and by 12 per cent those for convicted persons. Celje Prison and Juvenile Prison struggled with overcrowding by approximately 30 per cent in the section for detainees. Dob pri Mirni Prison was also overcrowded, but only by 5 per cent which is a significant improvement of conditions in this regard and it is mainly a result of an extension of official capacity due to two new facilities within this prison complex. In regard to compliance detention, a 17-per cent overcrowding of Maribor Prison and full occupation of such capacity in the Nova Gorica Unit of Koper Prison should be pointed out. As regards the above mentioned facts, they are a result of objective circumstances which, in the current situation, cannot be influenced by the institutions themselves in a more decisive manner. In the case of the Ig Open Unit of Ljubljana Prison it was discovered that the overcrowding of the main institution could have been at least slightly improved by a more consistent relocation of convicted persons fulfilling conditions for residence in a freer regime into the above mentioned open unit. In regard to Celje Prison and Juvenile Prison it was proposed that PARS should re-examine the adequacy of the Institute’s officially determined spatial capacity and assess the need to better adjust its official capacity since, in the wing for male detainees, this figure was still exceeded in spite of relevant changes made on the basis of our proposal of the previous year. National Preventive Mechanism in the Republic of Slovenia under the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 19