Comprehensive and up to date information through regular visits Unlike the mechanisms of the Council of Europe and the UN, NPMs are in a position to carry out regular visits to places of detention. The CPT for example undertakes an average of 10 regular visits per year in countries of the Council of Europe – averaging a visit every three to four years per country.314 This comparison becomes even more stark when compared with the United Nations bodies. In this regard, the SPT visits approximately six to eight countries each year globally, whereas the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture conducts around three visits per year.315 Obtaining current and relevant information from such reports dating back sometimes several years is problematic, and as a result, unlikely to be considered as reliable by an executing judge. The same can be said for the case law of the ECtHR, whereby the details and facts contained within the judgment may date back a number of years. Moreover, the information contained therein principally refers to circumstances pertaining to an individual case and do not necessarily provide a reliable statement on the general situation in the country. Although with its new pilot procedure, the Court also publishes more general statements on the situation of detention in a State Party, as in the case of Varga and Others v. Hungary of 2015.316 Additionally, NPMs have unique insight into detention facilities in their country. Their broad mandate, giving them access to all places of detention, allows them to have a comprehensive overview of the prevailing conditions. They are best placed to provide information which would otherwise be very difficult to access. International mechanisms have a limited timeframe which results often in only obtaining a selected view of the situation. Reliable and objective information through independent monitoring Furthermore, the independence of NPMs as enshrined in the OPCAT and the Paris Principles, allows for their findings to be considered in principle as objective and reliable. This data, published in the form of annual, thematic, ad-hoc or visiting reports, usually describes in a precise manner detention conditions. In order for the issuing authority to be able to inform the executing authority of existing national or international monitoring mechanisms, it will have to be aware of the NPM and be familiar with its work in their own country. 314 See the official CPT website, available at: www.cpt.coe.int/en/visits.htm. 315 See the website of the OHCHR, available at www2.ohchr.org. 316 Varga and Others v. Hungary, Appl. Nos. 14097/12, 45135/12, 73712/12, 34001/13, 44055/13, and 64586/13 (ECtHR, 10 March 2015). 87