CAT/OP/POL/CNPMRO/1 Comments on the recommendation(s) contained in paragraph 20 8. The NMPT is aware of the shortcomings of the legal framework that determines its organisational form and, to a certain extent, influences the manner of carrying out its mandate. Bearing in mind the requirement to maintain compliance of the newly established mechanisms with the Paris Principles and SPT Guidelines (Guidelines on national preventive mechanisms CAT/OP/12/5) it should be noted, however, that the Polish mechanism enjoys institutional independence because its activities are not subject to the control of any institution: ministry, minister, the government, the President or the Prime Minister. Institutional changes regarding the Mechanism may only be introduced by amending the Act on the CHR. 9. As the Polish Mechanism operates within the Ombudsman model, its status is grounded in the parliamentary act, and it has unlimited access to comprehensive sources of information about people held in places of detention and on problems related to the operation of such places. 10. Obviously, as regards the Act on the CHR, it does not implement the provision of Article 35 of the OPCAT, relating to the mechanism members’ privileges and immunities necessary for the independent exercise of their functions. Examples of such immunities are mentioned in Articles 22 and 23 of the Convention on Privileges and Immunities , which refer to the following solutions in this area: • During and in connection with the exercise of the NPM functions: • A member of the Mechanism may not be arrested or detained in custody, and his/her personal luggage may not be searched; • His/her papers and documents may not be searched or confiscated; • His/her communication processes may not be hindered; • During and after his/her term of office: • A member of the NPM may not be held liable for his/her verbal or written statements or actions in connection with the function performed. 11. Pursuant to the Act on the Commissioner for Human Rights, the abovementioned privileges apply to the Commissioner only. The fact that they are not extended to individual members of the Mechanism, however, does not cause any practical problems in the exercise of their powers, even taking into account the fact that the Mechanism members undergo a general safety check while entering penitentiary establishments. 12. The representatives of NMPT have no problems either in accessing information on persons deprived of their liberty. The scope of such information is limited only by the confidentiality clauses contained in documents, although it should be emphasized that the Director of the Mechanism is currently expected to be granted the power to access the socalled classified information. 13. If, in practice, there are cases when managers of the visited establishments refuse to provide information, such refusals definitely result from still insufficient recognition of the NMPT in the society, and not from deliberate intention to limit its powers. 14. As already mentioned, the tasks and subjects covered by the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture in many cases require specific knowledge and professional experience. That is why the Commissioner decided to establish the NMPT Expert Committee that is currently composed of 23 members. These are people who, thanks to their professional experience related to the protection of human rights, provide excellent substantive support to the Mechanism’s activities. The Committee’s interdisciplinary nature results from the diversified educational backgrounds of the members who include lawyers, doctors, NGO staff members, and persons whose daily work relates to the rights of persons deprived of their liberty. Among them are: Marzena Ksel, Ph.D. in medicine, Vicepresident of the CPT; Maria Książak, co-founder of the Polish Centre for the Rehabilitation of Torture Victims; prof. Mirosław Wyrzykowski, associate professor at the University of Warsaw, judge of the Constitutional Court in 2001 – 2010; professor Marek Konopczyński, Ph.D., author of the scientific approach to creative rehabilitation of minors, Vice-President of the National Council for Social Readaptation and Support of Convicts; Mikołaj Pietrzak, lawyer, head of the Regional Bar Council in Warsaw; member of the Board of Trustees of 4