“It is the responsibility of the State to ensure that it has in place an NPM which complies with the requirements of the Optional Protocol” (CAT/OP/12/5, paragraph 2) and “The mandate and powers of the NPM should be in accordance with the provisions of the Optional Protocol” (CAT/OP/12/5, paragraph 6), by Order no. 8 of February 14, 2018 on the observance of the provisions of the Optional Protocol (OPCAT) on the preventive mandate of the Field regarding prevention of torture in detention places, following the observance of the preventive mandate of the Field regarding prevention of torture in detention places in the exercise of the powers of the National Prevention Mechanism, the reactive role and its powers in terms of preventing torture in detention places, respectively performing systematic visits in the places where persons are deprived from freedom, so as to prevent torture and inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment, based on art. 1 of OPCAT, corroborated with art. 35 of Law no. 35/1997, republished, The People’s Advocate Institution decided that the petitions regarding acts of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in detention places submitted to the People’s Advocate Institution should no longer be solved by the Field regarding prevention of torture in detention places and shall be solved, depending on the notified issues, by the other fields of activity of the People’s Advocate Institution that fulfil a reactive role. On an exceptional basis, the People’s Advocate Institution may decide that some petitions regarding acts of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in detention places shall be solved by the Field regarding prevention of torture in detention places. ►As for maintaining contact with the Subcommittee for the prevention of torture, we mention the correspondence with Ms Mari Amos - member of the Subcommittee for the prevention of torture and head of the Regional European Team, whereby the NPM Activity Report for 2016 was submitted, and she found that: ● NPM actively organized and took part in various events, both on an internal and international level; ● the proactive approach of NPM referred to NPM’s activity in claiming its own rights, proposing and negotiating changes to its law of operation and 27