about the authors As part of a joint project conducted between the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights (BIM) and the Academy of European Law (ERA), this Study was written by Moritz Birk, Tiphanie Crittin and Gerrit Zach of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights, and Jean Tomkin of the Academy of European Law. The Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights was established in Vienna, Austria, in 1992 as an independent research centre with the aim of contributing to the scientific discourse of human rights at the national, European and global level. The team Human Dignity and Public Security at the BIM is composed of experts on the prevention of torture and ill-treatment and has supported the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak, from 2004 to 2010. The team has conducted extensive research on torture and ill-treatment, inter alia by the publication of a comprehensive commentary on the UN Convention against Torture and implemented numerous projects dealing with fighting impunity and strengthening safeguards and monitoring bodies in different countries across the globe. The Academy of European Law (ERA) was established in 1992 through an initiative of the European Parliament to provide training in European law to legal practitioners. ERA is a non-profit public foundation, whose patrons include most EU member states, and which is supported financially by the European Union. ERA organises conferences, seminars and language courses at different levels at its centre in Trier, its office in Brussels and around Europe. It also provides e-learning courses and publishes a quarterly journal, ERA Forum. ERA works with all practitioners of law, including judges, prosecutors, lawyers in private practice, notaries, in-house counsel, tax advisors, law enforcement officers or lawyers in public administration. acknowledgments Throughout the research undertaken we have been very fortunate to be able to consult and engage with the key practitioners and stakeholders central to this Study. We have benefited from the participation of judges, representatives of National Preventive Mechanisms, prosecutors and representatives from Ministries of Justice, through interviews, surveys, workshops and conferences, and we sincerely appreciate this constructive engagement, as well as the dedication to fundamental rights demonstrated by these actors. Without this consultation process this Study could not have realised its aim to consider the practical issues relating to Judges and National Preventive Mechanisms in the context of EU Framework Decisions on detention and enhancing the Europe wide, and indeed global commitment to the absolute prohibition of torture and ill treatment. In this regard, we would also like to extend our gratitude to the many experts from the European Commission, the Council of Europe, the United Nations, the Confederation of European Probation and Fair Trials International. In particular we are indebted to our advisory board, who, notwithstanding their many commitments always found time to provide significant input into the Study, comment on our drafts, contact us with useful material and helpful suggestions, attend and participate in all of the workshops and conferences, and more generally, support this work from the very early stages of the project through to the publication of this Study. To this end therefore, our heartfelt and sincere thanks to Mari Amos, of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT), Jonas Grimheden of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Anton van Kalmthout of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) and Michaël Meysman, Independent Expert. Finally, we would like to take this opportunity also to thank our colleagues at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights for their boundless patience, energy and support throughout this project with particular mention to Nora Katona as well as Giuliana Monina. 6