23 5.2. Planning and preparing the visits Pursuant to the Ombudsman Act, “the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights shall determine the rules and methods of his/her inquiries in normative instructions.”68 All visits by the NPM in 2015 were carried out based on the professional rules and methods stipulated in Directive 2/2012. (January 20) AJB of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights.69 Places of detention were selected in accordance with the annual schedule of visits or in response to an actual event. After having selected the place of detention to visit I appointed the head of the visiting delegation and preparations were started. The head of the delegation studied the conclusions and recommendations of the ombudsman’s earlier reports on investigating the designated, or similar thereto, places of detention, and the reports prepared by other national preventive mechanisms, international organizations, foreign and domestic civil society organizations on their visits to places of detention. Complying with my general duties in protecting fundamental rights, the visiting delegations also followed up on the implementation of recommendations made in reports on earlier on-the-spot inspections. In certain cases, upon the initiative of the heads of delegation, I also involved persons with practical knowledge about the operation of a selected place of detention, i.e., experts by experience, in the preparation of the visits. The reports by the experts by experience helped us identify facts and circumstances conducive to ill-treatment. My Office handled the personal data of the experts by experience, as well as the contents of their reports, confidentially.70 Visits were carried out on the basis of visiting plans drafted by the head of the visiting delegation and approved by myself. In addition to the name of the selected place of detention, visiting plans also contain the date and time of visit, and the names, qualifications and positions of the members of the visiting delegation. I approved the inspection criteria together with the visiting plan, as an annex thereto. 5.2.1. The composition of visiting delegations Pursuant to Article 18, Paragraph 2 of the OPCAT, experts of the national preventive mechanism shall have the required capabilities and professional knowledge. When determining the visiting delegations’ composition, I tried to secure the gender balance and multidisciplinarity of the group, and the involvement of an expert necessary for the protection of national and ethnic minority rights. In 2015, visits were conducted by groups of 4-8 people, appointed on the recommendation of the heads of delegation. When determining the visiting delegations’ composition, I also took into account, in addition to my colleagues’ professional qualifications, the size and capacity of the places of detention, the gender composition and life expectancy of the persons deprived of their liberty. See Section 30 of the Ombudsman Act See Directive 2/2012. (January 20) AJB on the professional rules and methods of investigations by the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights 70 See Article 21, Paragraph 2 of the OPCAT 68 69