18 3. The NPM’s cooperation with civil society organizations Pursuant to Article 3 of the OPCAT, the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights has to perform the tasks related to the NPM independently. 57 However, in my activities aimed at facilitating the enforcement and protection of human rights, I have to cooperate with ”organizations and national institutions aiming at the promotion of the protection of fundamental rights.”58 3.1. The tasks of the Civil Consultative Body The Civil Consultative Body (hereinafter the “CCB”), established to utilize the outstanding practical and/or high-level theoretical knowledge of various organizations registered and operating in Hungary relative to the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty, consisting of four invited members and another four members selected as a result of a public call for application, shall assist the activities of the National Preventive Mechanism with its recommendations and comments. Members of the CCB selected as a result of a public call for application are the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, the Menedék – Hungarian Association for Migrants, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, and the Mental Disability Advocacy Center – MDAC. 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 shall operate 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 comment on the working methods, reports, information materials, and other publications of the NPM; discuss the training plan designed to develop the skills of staff members authorized to carry out the duties of the National Preventive Mechanism; participate in conferences, workshops, exhibitions, and other events organized by the NPM.59 The staff members of the Department drafted the 2017 schedule of visits keeping the CCB’s recommendations in mind. The CCB’s recommendations were taken into account also in the course of planning the visits and when 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.60 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 experts.61 I forwarded the reports on the NPM’s visits to the members of the CCB as well. See Section 2(6) of the Ombudsman Act See Section 2(5) of the Ombudsman Act 59 See Section 6 of Directive 3/2014 (November 11) of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights assisting the National Preventive Mechanism in carrying out its duties on the establishment and rules of procedure of the Civil Consultative Body 60 See Paragraph 16(e) of the Analytical assessment tool for national preventive mechanisms, (CAT/OP/1/Rev.1) of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (hereinafter the ”SPT”) 61 See Act XLVII of 2005 on the activities of judicial experts and the provisions of Minister of Justice Decree 9/2006 IM on the specialties of judicial experts and on the qualification and other professional conditions related to them 57 58