III Implementation of inspection visits 1 Basis The National Agency applies above all valid German law, the case-law of the Federal Constitutional Court and that of the Federal and Higher Regional Courts when carrying out its visits. Furthermore, where appropriate the National Agency considers international agreements relevant to its remit, as well as international case-law including that of the European Court of Human Rights. Equally, it incorporates the recommendations of the SPT and of the CPT in its assessments. The places to be visited are selected according to a number of criteria. As a matter of principle, the Federal Agency and the Joint Commission, in line with their preventive mandate, visit as many facilities as possible which have a wide range of tasks. Efforts are furthermore made to ensure a suitable geographic spread. 2 Procedure followed in the inspection visits The visiting procedure varies depending on the type of facility to be visited and the local circumstances. The following section will therefore only provide a general description of the system on which the visits are based. A visiting delegation generally consists of between two and four persons, the National Agency also calling on the services of external experts for its visits. As a rule, the Joint Commission announces a visit to a facility to the competent supervisory authority roughly 30 minutes prior to the beginning of the visit in order to accelerate entrance to the facility that is to be visited. Visits to police units also took place unannounced, and sometimes at night. The Federal Agency announces inspection visits less than 24 hours in advance in order to ensure that the relevant contacts are on site. An inspection visit starts as a rule with an initial discussion being held with the head of the facility. This is followed by a tour through the facility or individual parts of the facility, when the constructional circumstances, the treatment of the inmates and the procedure which is followed in the deprivation of liberty are examined. The visiting delegation holds confidential discussions with inmates, officers, including staff members of the specialist services, whom they select, as well as for instance with the staff council. Furthermore, the visiting delegation inspects inmates’ files and other documents. Moreover, it requests written information to be compiled on the respective facility and the procedure which is fol- 19