8
d.
Follow up of visits
23.
As mentioned in the 1st General Report (op. cit. paragraph 71), the CPT's objective is to have its report
sent to the Party in question not later than six months after the end of each visit.
Insofar as periodic visits are concerned, it has not always proved possible to meet this objective. In one
or two instances, the CPT has transmitted its report some eight to nine months after the visit. The CPT is
striving to remedy this situation. However, it should also be recalled in this context that a visiting delegation
invariably meets the national authorities at the end of its visit, and gives some tentative first impressions of the
places of detention seen. Moreover, during 1991 certain visiting delegations invoked Article 8 (5) of the
Convention and immediately communicated formal observations to the competent authorities. The Parties
concerned have reacted favourably to these observations; desirable steps have been taken rapidly, without
awaiting the transmission of the CPT's report.
As regards the two ad hoc visits carried out by the CPT, the Committee's reports have been drawn up
and transmitted expeditiously. For example, the report drawn up following the visit to Turkey from 29
September to 7 October 1991 was transmitted to the Turkish authorities at the beginning of December 1991.
24.
In the course of 1991, the CPT has received the first interim reports from States visited, in response to
its visit reports. The Committee is very grateful for the substantive replies given and encouraged by the
willingness to co-operate which they demonstrate. It trusts that States will continue to comply (and without
undue delay) with the requests for interim and follow-up reports; this is essential to the establishment of an
ongoing dialogue, to which the Committee attaches the utmost importance.
The basic components of the above-mentioned dialogue are the CPT's visit reports, the interim and
follow-up reports from the national authorities in response (cf. also the 1st General Report; op. cit. paragraph
32), and the CPT's reactions to each of those latter reports. Once national authorities and the Committee have
become fully acquainted with this procedure, it should enable an in depth exchange of views to be sustained
between visits.
25.
During 1991, three of the CPT's visit reports - concerning Austria, Denmark and the United Kingdom have been published, pursuant to Article 11 (2) of the Convention6. In the case of Austria and the United
Kingdom, the report was published together with the comments of the national authorities. The CPT welcomes
the attitude adopted by the Austrian, Danish and United Kingdom Governments on this matter.
6
Further, on 2 March 1992, the Swedish authorities informed the CPT that they had no objection to the
report drawn up following the visit to Sweden in 1991 being made public.