Activities during the period 1 August 2011 to 31 July 2012
In view of the influx of new members at the end of 2011 and in order to refresh
the skills of all members, time was set aside at the plenary meetings in March
and July 2012 for training in the techniques of visiting places of deprivation of
liberty and interviewing detained persons.
19. A great deal of the CPT’s work is carried out by subgroups, first and foremost
the delegations given responsibility for the carrying out of visits but also two
permanent entities, the Jurisprudence and Medical Groups, and ad hoc working
groups set up to examine specific topics.
20. The Jurisprudence and Medical Groups have continued to meet on the eve of
each plenary meeting. The task of the Jurisprudence Group is to advise the CPT on
innovations and possible inconsistencies in the Committee’s standards as reflected in visit reports and identify areas where there is room for development of the
standards. The Medical Group examines the substantive issues of a medical nature
related to the CPT’s mandate and organises training sessions on the specific tasks
that medical members of visiting delegations are required to perform.
21. An ad hoc group examining the possible involvement of the CPT in the
monitoring of the deportation of foreign nationals by air (“return flights”) has
pursued its work and a delegation of the Committee recently participated in a
return flight. In this connection, the CPT would like to thank the many States
which responded to a letter seeking information on this subject sent by its
President in December 2011.
Following the ad hoc visit to Belgium in April 2012, another ad hoc working
group has been established, tasked with examining the phenomenon of strikes
and other forms of industrial action by prison staff from the standpoint of the
CPT’s mandate.
Contacts with other bodies
22. The CPT has continued its efforts to promote synergy with other bodies,
both within and outside the Council of Europe. The Committee is particularly
keen to develop good working relations with the national preventive mechanisms
(NPMs) now being established across Europe, and this matter will be addressed
in detail in the following section of this General Report.
23. Reference has already been made to the Committee’s exchange of views with
judges of the European Court of Human Rights in November 2011. Such meet
ings have now become an established practice and are a reflection of the close
links between the work of the Court and the CPT’s activities. In this connection,
it is interesting to note that the Committee’s visit reports or standards have now
been cited in close to 350 of the Court’s judgments.
Regular contacts have also been maintained with the outgoing and incoming
Commissioners for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg and Nils Muižnieks,
and members of the Commissioner’s Office, so as to ensure as far as possible
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