should be organised in such a way that a certain continuity is preserved while, at the same time, visible changes are being effected. The hitherto existing ex-post control should be integrated with preventive monitoring and control in order to guarantee that human rights are protected as comprehensively as possible. This approach underpins the AOB’s claim of being the “Human Rights House of the Republic of Austria”. The National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) is implemented through the collaboration of the AOB with the Commissions it has established. But this can work only when civil society is integrated accordingly and sees that it is a worthwhile endeavour to commit oneself to this new mechanism for the protection of human rights. Civil society is prominently represented by NGOs in the Human Rights Advisory Council. Higher budget due to expansion of competences In the second half of 2012, the AOB had an additional budget of EUR 1,947,000 to fulfil its new competences. The increased expenditure can be explained on one hand by the activities of the members of the Human Rights Advisory Council and the Commissions who are entitled to remuneration and reimbursement of travel expenses. Furthermore, increased personnel are required for additional administrative tasks and there are also expenses resulting from the AOB’s obligations under OPCAT, for example, the mandatory cooperation with international bodies, such as the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture. Priority of ex-post control unchanged Despite the newly assumed competences, the importance and priority of ex-post control for the AOB have not changed. In 2012, around 15,600 complaints were received; the AOB receives about 63 complaints each working day. In order to put these figures into proportion, it should be recalled that, when the AOB was established, the assumption was that it would receive 1,500 complaints per year. Trends in complaints One item that has remained the same in recent years is that most of the complaints and investigations refer to the sector of social affairs. More than one quarter of all initiated investigations fall into this particularly sensitive area. The high percentage of complaints in the area of internal security is also significant. This development has emerged in recent years and is due to the large number of complaints dealing with the law on aliens and asylum law. This year has seen an increase in the number of complaints concerning the judiciary, in particular regarding the penal system. This is probably due to the initial visits by the Commissions and the reports in the media about the new competences of the AOB. 6