communicated to the Observatory any information insofar as such information was provided in accordance with the law. Where appropriate, the authority may incur liability. Title VResources and financial management of the Observatory Article 27 The resources of the Observatory shall be made up of: The initial endowment of premises, furniture and fixtures belonging to the State and placed at the Observatory’s disposal and start-up funds, the amount of which shall be set by decree of the Council of Ministers, upon a proposal by the Minister of Justice Annual appropriations allocated to the Observatory by the State; they shall be set in the Finance Act upon a proposal by the Minister of Justice The Observatory may receive gifts and legacies in accordance with applicable legislation. Article 28 A decree of the Council of Ministers shall establish the financial regulations of the Observatory and the recruiting procedures for the accounting officer. Title VIFinal provisions Article 29 Any matter not covered by this Act, including the adoption of a logo or distinctive sign and the bearing of professional identity cards, shall be governed by the rules of procedure. Article 30 All previous conflicting provisions shall be repealed. Article 31 This Act shall be executed as State law. Done in Cotonou, on Annex IV Preliminary guidelines for the development of national preventive mechanisms In order to facilitate the dialogue with NPMs generally, the SPT wishes to indicate some preliminary guidelines concerning the process of establishing NPMs, either by development of new or existing bodies, and concerning certain key features of NPMs: (i)The mandate and powers of the NPM should be clearly and specifically established in national legislation as a constitutional or legislative text. The broad definition of places of deprivation of liberty as per OPCAT shall be reflected in that text; (ii)The NPM should be developed by a public, inclusive and transparent process of establishment, including civil society and other actors involved in the prevention of torture; where an existing body is considered for designation as the NPM, the matter should be open for debate, involving civil society; (iii)The independence of the NPM, both actual and perceived, should be fostered by a transparent process of selection and appointment of members who are independent and do not hold a position which could raise questions of conflict of interest; (iv)Selection of members should be based on stated criteria relating to the experience and expertise required to carry out NPM work effectively and impartially; (v)NPM membership should be gender balanced and have adequate representation of ethnic, minority and indigenous groups. The State shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the expert members of the NPM have the required capabilities and professional knowledge. Training should be provided to NPMs; (vi)Adequate resources should be provided for the specific work of NPMs in accordance with Article 18, 3 of the OPCAT; these should be ring-fenced, in terms of both budget and human resources; (vii)The work programme of NPMs should cover all potential and actual places of deprivation of liberty; (viii)The periodicity of NPM visits should ensure effective monitoring of such places as regards safeguards against ill-treatment; (ix)Working methods of NPMs should be developed and reviewed with a view to effective identification of good practice and gaps in