19 2. Staff members participating in performing the tasks of the NPM 2.1. Public servants of the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights Pursuant to Article 18, Paragraph (2) of the OPCAT, the States Parties “shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the experts of the national preventive mechanism have the required capabilities and professional knowledge. They shall strive for a gender balance and the adequate representation of ethnic and minority groups in the country.” In performing the tasks of the NPM, I may proceed personally or through authorized members of my Office’s staff members. Authorized staff members of my Office are also entitled to the NPM’s investigative powers40, and, by virtue of Section 25 of the Ombudsman Act, the authorities concerned and their management and staff are obliged to cooperate with them, as well.41 In order to perform the NPM’s tasks, from among the staff of the Office, I have to authorize–on a permanent basis–at least eleven persons. The “authorized public servant staff members shall be experts with a graduate degree and have an outstanding knowledge in the field of the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty or have at least five years of professional experience.” Among them, “there shall be at least one person who has been proposed by the Deputy Commissioner for Fundamental Rights responsible for the protection of the rights of nationalities living in Hungary, and at least two persons each with a degree in law, medicine and psychology respectively. Among the authorized public servant staff members, the number of the representatives of either sex may exceed that of the other by one at the most.”42 Staff members of my Office authorized to perform the tasks of the NPM on a permanent basis43 conduct their activities within a separate organizational unit, the OPCAT NPM Department (hereinafter the “Department”).44 40 41 42 43 44 See Sections 21, 22, 26 and Section 27, Subsections (1) and (2) of the Ombudsman Act. See Section 39/D, Subsection (1) of the Ombudsman Act. See Section 39/D, Subsection (3) of the Ombudsman Act. See Section 39/D, Subsection (3) of the Ombudsman Act. “Guidelines on national preventive mechanism,” CAT/OP/12/5, Clause 32.