I. Organisation, structure and mandate of the Commission of the Länder Section 1 Tasks of the Commission of the Länder The Commission of the Länder shall form together with the Federal Agency for the Prevention of Torture (hereinafter: Federal Agency) the National Agency for the Prevention of Torture. The Commission of the Länder shall have the following tasks: - to regularly visit places where people are deprived of their liberty within the remit of the Federal Länder, - to make recommendations to the competent authorities and facilities in order to improve the treatment and conditions of the persons placed there in accordance with the national and international requirements, - to make proposals and observations on existing legal provisions or on those in the drafting stage. Section 2 Competence of the Commission of the Länder The Commission of the Länder shall be competent for all “places where people are deprived of their liberty” within the remit of the Länder. These shall include prisons, closed wings in psychiatric hospitals, detention awaiting deportation facilities, detention centres for asylumseekers, police stations of the Länder, facilities of youth welfare, closed homes for children and juveniles, as well as senior citizens’ homes and long-term care homes. Section 3 Membership and chair (1) The Commission of the Länder shall consist of four members working on an honorary basis. One member of the Commission of the Länder shall be appointed as the chairperson of the Commission of the Länder. (2) The four members of the Commission and the chairperson shall be nominated by the conference of the Ministers of Justice for a period of office of four years. In derogation from this, in nominating the first four members of the Commission, two members shall be nominated for four years and two members for two years. (3) The chairperson shall represent the Commission of the Länder externally, as well as visà-vis the Federal Agency and the Centre for Criminology (KrimZ). Section 4 Tasks of the full-time secretariat (secretariat) (1) The secretariat shall support the Commission of the Länder and the National Agency in the performance of its statutory tasks. (2) The tasks of the secretariat shall include the following activities: Preparation for and coordination of the visits, as well as of other activities, support on inspection visits, preparation for national and international correspondence, content preparation and follow-up of sessions and visits, other general secretariat tasks. 117