The NPM established that there was no permanent presence of a staff member at night on the secure ward of Trnovo Retirement Home and there was also no video surveillance on the ward. The NPM thus repeated its recommendation from 2013 that the home should examine the possibility of the permanent presence of one staff member at night on the ward or at least video surveillance of communal areas. In the response to the final report on the visit, the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities replied that they had asked the management of the home to examine whether they had exhausted all the possibilities provided by the current legislation (including employing more staff due to the needs for special work concepts). The NPM believed that the high-level supervision ward in Radenci Retirement Home complied with the definition of a secure ward as determined by the ZDZdr. As a result, it is mandatory that all provisions of the ZDZdr are observed regarding the special rights enjoyed by persons in a secure ward or residents in a home whose freedom is limited. In their reply to the preliminary report, the management of the home explained that the provisions of the ZDZdr were observed in all wards, and not only on the high-level supervision ward. They emphasised that persons residing in the home confirm their voluntary arrival in several ways: by signing a request for admission; by cooperating during the doctor’s examination when completing the medical part of the documentation; by signing the agreement on accommodation; familiarisation and signing of a statement on familiarisation regarding the manner of treatment and the rights provided by the ZDZdr. The management also said that a competent social work centre conducted a personal interview with residents if a guardian for a special case is appointed, and established the wishes and needs of the resident in one section of the interview. If the person disagreed with the accommodation, the procedure of accommodation against their will would have already started when the person was in the hospital, according to the home’s experience, thus providing rights as per the Constitution and the ZDZdr to such a person. If the resident revoked their consent, the home would act in accordance with the ZDZdr. In the short time the home has been operating, they have had no cases when procedures for accommodation against the person’s will would be instigated. Persons who no longer wanted to live in the home were able to leave it because they had sufficient support from their families. In the response to the final report on the visit, the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities agreed with the warning, stating that if a high-level supervision ward complied with the definition of a secure ward, the home must observe the ZDZdr. The NPM reminded Radenci Retirement Home to observe the provisions of the ZDZdr and the decision of the Constitutional Court no. U-I-294/12-20 of 10 June 2015 on the procedure for admitting residents to the secure ward with or without consent. In their reply to the preliminary report, the management of the home stated that they were aware of the obligation to seek consent also from the person declared legally incapable, which it did in practice. The resident and their carer sign the agreement and other necessary documents in the home. The resident does not sign the agreement solely in the event that they can no longer write due to their illness (e.g. after CVI and similar). The home emphasised that it definitely observed the provisions of the ZDZdr and the decision of the Constitutional Court no. U-I-294/12-20 of 10 June 2015 on the procedure for admitting residents to the secure ward with or without consent. If a resident is admitted who has not given their consent, they are admitted only on the basis of a court decision compliant with the ZDZdr. There were few such cases in the home; on the day of the NPM’s visit, there were no residents on the high-level supervision ward who would be admitted in such a way. The Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities agreed with the NPM’s findings and warnings. The NPM suggested that the management of Radenci Retirement Home examine the possibility of offering residents in secure wards certain activities also in the afternoon, at weekends and during holidays. The management of the home thanked the NPM for their comments, proposals and commendations, which they stated that they would try to observe to the best of their abilities and as much as possible during their work. Since the management had failed to provide a precise reply, except a general IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE NPM IN 2016 NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM UNDER THE OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT 43