Preamble The Federal Republic of Germany signed the Optional Protocol of 18 December 2002 to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (hereinafter referred to as “Optional Protocol”) on 20 September 2006. The Optional Protocol provides for the establishment of national mechanisms for the prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (hereinafter referred to as “for the prevention of torture”). These mechanisms are to examine the treatment of persons who have been deprived of their liberty. Since competence for measures entailing deprivation of liberty in the Federal Republic of Germany is very largely a matter for the Länder, such mechanisms are to be established by the Länder and provided with the appropriate powers. It appears expedient in place of individual commissioners of the Länder to create with this Treaty a joint national mechanism within the meaning of Article 3 of the Optional Protocol (Commission) which is able to act uniformly vis-à-vis the Federation, the Länder and the United Nations. Additionally, the Federation establishes a Federal Agency for the Prevention of Torture as a further national mechanism which shall perform the corresponding tasks for individuals who have been deprived of their liberty under federal jurisdiction. The Commission shall work closely together with this agency, in particular in reporting. The Commission is to use the infrastructure of the Centre for Criminology (Kriminologische Zentralstelle e.V.) as extensively as possible. The necessary secretariat is to be established with the Centre for Criminology. Article 1 Establishment of the Commission for the Prevention of Torture The Länder concluding the present Treaty shall establish a joint Commission for the Prevention of Torture which shall be designated to the United Nations as the national mechanism for the prevention of torture within the meaning of Article 3 of the Optional Protocol. Article 2 Tasks and powers (1) The Commission shall have the task of visiting places of detention within the meaning of Article 4 of the Optional Protocol under the jurisdiction of the Länder in order to prevent torture, drawing attention to problems and where appropriate making recommendations for improvements. (2) The members of the Commission, individually or together, shall have the powers named in Article 19 of the Optional Protocol. The Länder shall grant to them the rights and powers named in Article 20 of the Optional Protocol. (3) The Commission may make recommendations to the competent authorities in order to improve the conditions for persons who have been deprived of their liberty. The authorities shall be obliged to carefully examine these recommendations and to make a statement to the Commission within a suitable period. (4) The Commission shall draft an Annual Report together with the Federal Agency for the Prevention of Torture, which shall be forwarded to the Federal Government, the Land Governments, the German Federal Parliament and the Länder Parliaments. 108