10.3. The authorities’ responses to the major measures taken by the NPM The legislator added the definition of the concept of body search to the provisions of the Prison Code, according to which “body search means the search of the convicts’ body and clothes, and the examination of their personal items”.217 Minister of Justice Decree No. 16/2014. (XII. 19.) IM was also complemented by the Minister of Justice in accordance with the NPM’s recommendation. Pursuant to Section 59(3), “orifices of the lower body may be inspected only by a physician or the healthcare personnel”.218 10.3.3. National Prison of Szombathely 219 The National Prison of Szombathely (hereinafter the “Institution”) is one of the largest penitentiary institutions in the country and one of the two domestic penal institutions operated on the basis of a PPP 220 Contract. On the day of the visit, there were 1,474 detainees registered in the Institution, which has a capacity of 1,476, of whom 1,432 were actually present, accounting for a utilisation rate of 97%. It was problematic that neither the text of the House Rules regarding the contact kept by the detainees, nor the Institution’s actual practices in this respect were in compliance with the provisions of the Prison Code on the rules of the detainees’ correspondence with the penal authorities, the human rights organizations specified by the law, and the defence attorneys.221 I requested the Institution’s warden to modify the House Rules. The efficient conduct of suicide prevention activities was hindered by insufficient staffing, the uneven distribution of persons belonging to psychological imbalance and suicide risk groups, and by the design of the bathrooms that allowed attempts at suicide by hanging. I was informed by the 217 218 219 220 221 The new text of Section 151(1) of the Prison Code that took effect on April 19, 2017 is as follows: “Frisking means the search of the convicts’ body and clothes, and the examination of their personal items. Frisking may be conducted only by a person of the same sex, with the exception of a physician and healthcare personnel assisting the frisking or when the search of clothes is done using a technical device.” Section 40 of Minister of Justice Decree No. 22/2017 (XII. 22.) IM on the amendment of ministerial decrees on criminal and criminal procedure law issues, as well as the related decrees on justice-related issues. Effective as of: January 1, 2018. Report No AJB-793/2017. PPP=Public Private Partnership, i.e. cooperation between the public and private sectors. Section 174 (4) of the Prison Code stipulates that: “The contents of the convict’s correspondence with the authorities, international human rights organizations recognised by an international instrument promulgated by an Act, the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, the organization or staff of the National Preventive Mechanism, and the convict’s defence counsel may not be checked. If there is good reason to believe that the letters received or sent by the convict are not, in fact, sent by the authority, international organization, or defence counsel indicated on the envelope or meant to the addressee, the envelope shall be opened in the convict’s presence, simultaneously with recording the procedure. Checking may only serve the identification of the real sender.” 107