14 CPT: 12TH GENERAL REPORT Administrative and budgetary questions 28. It is axiomatic that in order to maintain the CPT’s effectiveness, the continuing expansion of its field of operations must be matched by a corresponding increase in its human and financial resources. The Committee was therefore pleased to note that in its reply of 6 February 2002 to Parliamentary Recommendation 1517 (2001), the Committee of Ministers stated that it is “aware that the … growing number of States Parties to the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment … obliges the CPT to increase the number of visit days and that it therefore requires more staff” and declared that it “is determined to continue its efforts in the future to enable the CPT to carry out effectively the task entrusted to it”. 29. Prior to adopting its reply to Recommendation 1517, the Committee of Ministers sought the opinion of the CPT, and that opinion (of 13 November 2001) was appended to the reply. The following extract of the CPT’s opinion might usefully be cited here: “In the 12 years of its existence, the CPT has seen the number of Parties to the European Convention for the prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment grow from 15 to 41, and this process is still not completed. The number of Parties can certainly be expected to reach 45 in the near future, as a result of ratifications or accessions by Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. As long ago as 1996, the CPT defined the resources which would be required for the Committee to cope effectively with the workload generated by up to 45 Parties to the Convention. A gradual increase in the number of visits days to 200 days per year was foreseen, as well as the restructuring and progressive reinforcement of the Committee's Secretariat. The CPT has on several occasions in recent years, in particular in its General Reports, expressed concern that its effectiveness was being undermined by a failure to match the vast expansion of its field of operations by a corresponding increase in the Committee's resources. However, as was emphasised in the CPT's last (11th) General Report, considerable progress has been made of late towards strengthening the Committee's resources. The number of visit days and the Secretariat resources are now getting quite close to the necessary levels identified some five years ago by the Committee. The CPT is very grateful to both the Secretary General and the Ministers' Deputies for having made this possible. The CPT understands that appropriations will be provided to enable the Committee to increase the number of visit days to 180 in 2002 (as compared to 165 in 2001), and the Committee hopes that the target of 200 visits days per year can be reached in 2003. This volume of visit days should make it possible to guarantee that, with a group of 45 Parties, each State receives a periodic visit on average every four years, and at the same time give sufficient scope for the different types of ad hoc visits (urgent; follow-up; upon a State's invitation, etc.) required in the circumstances. As regards Secretariat resources, an additional three staff members are needed to complete the teams of the operational units, namely 1 A2/A3 official for Unit 3 and 1 B4 official for each of Units 2 and 3 (...). Priority should be given to bringing Unit 3 up to full strength as regards A grade staff; the CPT hopes that this will be possible in the course of 2002. The CPT is confident that with the reinforcement of its resources indicated above, the Committee will be in a position to carry out effectively the task entrusted to it by the Convention vis-à-vis the previously-mentioned group of 45 States.” 30. Unfortunately, it will finally not be possible for the CPT to carry out 180 visit days in 2002, despite having received the necessary appropriations. The President of the CPT made it clear on 4 October 2001, in her statement to the Committee of Ministers at the annual exchange of views on the CPT’s activities, that without some further reinforcement of the Committee’s Secretariat, the target of 180 days may well not be attainable. No additional staff has been made available to the CPT during the last twelve months and, as a result, the Committee has been obliged to limit the number of visit days in 2002 to 170. The CPT wishes to stress that the provision of appropriations for additional visit days must be accompanied by a corresponding strengthening of the Secretariat called upon to support the envisaged visit programme. With the existing staff resources2, 170 visit days per year is the maximum possible. The CPT very much hopes that it will shortly be possible to implement the modest reinforcement of its Secretariat requested by the Committee. 31. On a more positive note, the CPT was fortunate to have had for one year (from July 2001 to July 2002) the assistance of a senior British police officer, Detective Chief Inspector Michael KELLETT, of the Lancashire Constabulary. He provided invaluable advice to the CPT on all aspects of its work in relation to the police, and in particular as regards the techniques used by the Committee when visiting police establishments and the substantive standards developed by the Committee as regards police custody. The CPT is grateful to the United Kingdom authorities for having financed entirely Mr Kellett’s secondment. 2 An organigramme of the Secretariat is set out in Appendix 4.