21 Selected topics from 2019 In Norway, the use of restraint beds is regulated by the Execution of Sentences Act Section 38. The Act provides for the use of restraint beds, security cells and other approved measures of ­restraint, in all situations covered by Section 38. This is not in accordance with the ECtHR’s ­requirements that each decision to use a restraint bed is based on adequate reasons explaining why the decision was made. The Directorate of Correctional Service has specified in the guidelines on the use of restraint beds that this measure must only be employed when strictly necessary to prevent an inmate from harming him or herself.10 Under Section 38 second paragraph of the Execution of Sentences Act, restraints shall only be used if the circumstances make this strictly necessary and less intrusive measures have been attempted unsuccessfully or are obviously inadequate. Restraint measures must be used with caution in order to prevent unnecessary harm or suffering. The guidelines stress that the Correctional Service will continually assess whether there is a need to uphold the measure. In addition, the Act has rules for notifying a doctor and reporting long-term use of restraint beds to the governing authority, as well as separate, stricter rules for the use of restraint beds for ­persons under 18. The health service’s assistance to a person placed in restraints is regulated in the Health Personnel Act Section 4 concerning professional ­responsibility and diligent care. A restraint bed with permanently attached straps in a prison we have visited visited by the NPM. 10 Directorate of Correctional Service (2002). Guidelines to the Execution of Sentences Act and its Regulations, section 38.7. Revised version of 15 March 2019.