General Report of the CPT, 2011-2012 end of 2013, this will greatly facilitate the planning of the CPT’s periodic visits for the following year. 88. Replying on 15 February 2012 to Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1968 (2011) on strengthening torture prevention mechanisms in Europe, the Committee of Ministers made the following observations as regards the election process for CPT members: “….the key requirement is that the procedures in place ensure that persons elected to the Committee fully meet the requirements set out in Article 4 of the Convention. The Committee of Ministers agrees that Assembly Resolution 1540 (2007) contains many elements that could be useful for member States in the conception of their national selection procedures (public calls for candidatures, consultations on candidates with both State and non-governmental bodies, and interviews with shortlisted candidates to assess their qualifications, motivation and availability, as well as language skills). The goal should be that all persons placed on lists of candidates forwarded by the national delegations to the Assembly are capable of making an effective contribution to the CPT’s activities”. The CPT welcomes this clear stand by the Committee of Ministers and trusts that steps will be taken in States which have not already done so to introduce national selection procedures which meet the requirements set out in Resolution 1540. It can not be said too often that the effectiveness of the CPT will ultimately depend on the quality of its members. 89. There remains on the whole a good spread of professional expertise ­within the CPT’s membership, and the Committee possesses in particular many members with experience in the fields of prisons and psychiatry. However, the Committee still needs more members with first-hand knowledge of law ­enforcement agencies (police/gendarmerie), and some additional members with specific knowledge of the treatment of juveniles deprived of their liberty would be desirable. Of course, given the nature of its mandate, it is essential for the CPT to have a sufficient number of medical members with relevant forensic skills (in particular as regards the observing and recording of physical injuries); in this connection, it should be kept in mind that two of the forensic doctors among the current membership will leave the Committee on 19 December 2013 on the expiry of their third term of office. Bureau of the CPT 90. The 1st Vice-President of the CPT, Vladimir Ortakov, ceased to be a member of the Committee on 19 December 2011. Since then, the Bureau has consisted of Lətif Hüseynov, President, Haritini Dipla, Acting 1st Vice-President, and JeanPierre Restellini, Acting 2nd Vice-President. Elections for the Bureau of the CPT will be held at the Committee’s March 2013 meeting. 38