26 3. The NPM’s cooperation with civil society organizations The organizations invited by the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights are the Hungarian Medical Chamber, the Hungarian Psychiatric Association, the Hungarian Dietetic Association and the Hungarian Bar Association. The CCB operates as a body. In the course of the CCB’s operation, its members may make recommendations relative to the contents of the annual schedule of visits of the NPM and the inspection priorities; initiate visits to certain places of detention; recommend the involvement of experts with special knowledge who may be affiliated with the organization they represent. The CCB may review the NPM’s working methods, reports, information materials, and other publications; discuss the training plan designed for developing the capabilities of the staff members authorised to perform the tasks related to the NPM; furthermore, it may participate in conferences, workshops, exhibitions, and other events organized by the NPM.65 Similarly to the practice of the previous years, the 2018 schedule of visits was devised in consideration of the CCB’s recommendations. The CCB’s recommendations were taken into account also during the designation of the places to visit as well as while approving the schedule of visits. The NPM has to develop coherent and transparent rules of procedure for the employment of external experts with necessary qualifications and practical knowledge.66 Since the statutory provision regarding the employment of two physicians could not be complied with due to the lack of applicants, some members of the Hungarian Medical Chamber and the Hungarian Psychiatric Association contributed as external experts to the NPM’s visits. When selecting external experts, in addition to the recommendations of the Hungarian Medical Chamber and the Hungarian Psychiatric Association, I also took into account the relevant provisions of the legal regulation on judicial (forensic) experts.67 I forwarded the reports on the NPM’s visits to the members of the CCB as well. In 2018 the CCB had two meetings: on 16 May and 4 December.68 The one held in May happened to be the first meeting of the CCB set up for three years for the second time now.69 65 66 67 68 69 See Section 6 of Normative Instruction 3/2014 (IX. 11.) of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights on the establishment and the rules of procedure of the Civil Consultative Body facilitating the performance of the tasks of the National Preventive Mechanism. See SPT: Analytical self-assessment tool for National Prevention Mechanisms [Clause 16(e) of CAT/OP/1/Rev.1]. See Act XLVII of 2005 on the activities of judicial experts and the provisions of Minister of Justice’s Decree 9/2006 on the specialities of judicial experts and on the qualification and other professional conditions related to them. The materials of the 16 May meeting of the CCB are filed in my Office under number AJB-1915/2018, and the materials of the 4 December meeting under number AJB-4623/2018. The minutes of the CCB meetings are accessible to the public on the NPM’s homepage. See http://www.ajbh.hu/opcat The first ever meeting of the CCB was held on 19 November 2014.