CAT/OP/CHE/CSPRO/1 26. Under article 7 (1) and (2) of the Federal Act on the Commission for the Prevention of Torture, the Commission is responsible for appointing its own members and for its organization and working methods. It is therefore free to decide how it operates and how it uses its funds. The Commission is composed of 12 members who are experts in human rights, justice, enforcement of sentences and measures, medicine, psychiatry and law enforcement. Working for the Commission on a part-time basis allows members to maintain their expertise through other activities. Members receive a daily allowance for their work. The Act also provides for the Commission to call on external experts with experience in more specific subject areas, if needed. 27. The number of posts in the Commission’s secretariat has increased in recent years and currently stands at 3.4 (as at 1 September 2020). 28. The Federal Council believes that the manner in which the Commission is organized has proved effective, since it gives the Commission the flexibility to appoint members and experts appropriate to the type of monitoring visit being conducted. The Federal Council is also of the view that the current model, with 12 members working part-time, has proved effective. IV. Legal and institutional framework: federal jurisdiction over criminal procedure and legal safeguards A. Definition and criminalization of torture 29. Paragraph 43: Recalling the recommendations of the Committee against Torture and the Human Rights Committee, and in order to give effect to article 4 of the Convention against Torture, the Subcommittee recommends that the State party introduce in its Criminal Code a specific offence of torture, defined in accordance with article 1 of the Convention. 30. As article 4 (1) of the Convention rightly states: “Each State party shall ensure that all acts of torture are offences under its criminal law.” Article 1 of the Convention defines the term “torture” as any act, inflicted by or at the instigation of a public body, by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on persons for such purposes as obtaining from them information or a confession, punishing them or intimidating them. Thus, States are required not to establish a specific offence of torture but to ensure that all acts covered by these two articles are criminal offences, as is the case in Switzerland. 31. Firstly, in the context of crimes against humanity, torture is explicitly prohibited under article 264a of the Swiss Criminal Code. Paragraph 1 (f) of this article establishes a custodial sentence of not less than 5 years for any person who, as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population, inflicts severe pain or suffering or serious injury, whether physical or mental, on a person in his or her custody or under his or her control. 32. Attacks against life, physical, sexual and psychological integrity and freedom (threats, coercion, false imprisonment and kidnapping), abuse of authority and obstruction of criminal proceedings are all penalized as ordinary offences. Acts that endanger life or health are also severely punished. Anyone committing such an offence, including public officials and authorities, is held criminally liable. Aiding and abetting a criminal offence is also punishable under Swiss law (Criminal Code, arts. 24 and 25), as is attempting to aid and abet (Criminal Code, art. 22), meaning that it is possible to prosecute not only direct perpetrators, but also their superiors, for example. Thus, the Subcommittee’s assertion that “acts of torture committed during arrest, police custody or enforcement of a penalty, or during any other kind of deprivation of liberty ... would not be punished” is inaccurate. 33. The penalties established for the above-mentioned offences are proportionate, act as a deterrent and are fully in line with all other penalties established under the Criminal Code. If more than one offence is committed at the same time, the sentence for the most serious offence may be increased by half of the maximum penalty prescribed for that offence (Criminal Code, art. 49). Moreover, the statutes of limitation are sufficiently long to allow the criminal investigation authorities to carry out their work without undue haste, while 6 GE.21-03864