The National Agency for the Prevention of
Torture is Germany’s designated National
Preventive Mechanism. By establishing the
Agency, the Federal Republic of Germany
fulfilled its obligations under international law
following from the OPCAT. The National
Agency is only responsible for places where
persons are or may be deprived of their liberty,
either by virtue of an order given by a public
authority or at its instigation or with its explicit
consent or acquiescence. The following provides
an overview of the National Agency’s special
status, as well as background information
regarding its structure.
for the Prevention of Torture.” Consequently,
NGOs will be given the opportunity to propose
candidates to the Conference of Justice
Ministers for positions at the Joint Commission.
Members are not subject to supervisory control
or legal oversight, and are independent in the
exercise of their functions. They act in an
honorary capacity. Strict conditions apply for
the removal of members before the end of their
term in office, as set out in sections 21 and 24 of
the
German
Judiciary
Act
[Deutsches
Richtergesetz]. The full-time secretariat is based
in Wiesbaden and is affiliated with the
organisational structure of the Centre for
Criminology [Kriminologische Zentralstelle e.V.].
1.1 – INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
1.2 – TASKS
The objective of preventing torture and abuse
is laid down in the OPCAT, which adds a
preventive approach to the UN Convention
against Torture of 1984.
The principle task of the National Agency is to
visit those facilities in which people are deprived
of their liberty (“places of detention”), to draw
attention to problems there, and to make
recommendations and suggestions to the
authorities for improving the situation of
detainees and for preventing torture and other
ill-treatment. Under Article 4(1) of the OPCAT,
a place of detention is any place under a State
Party’s jurisdiction and control where persons
are or may be deprived of their liberty, either by
virtue of an order given by a public authority or
at its instigation or with its explicit consent or
acquiescence.
Article 3 of the OPCAT requires that the
States Parties set up an NPM. These
independent national mechanisms engage in
preventive measures and assess whether places of
detention ensure humane treatment and
detention conditions. The National Agency for
the Prevention of Torture comprises the Federal
Agency for the Prevention of Torture, which is
responsible for facilities run at federal level, and
the Joint Commission of the Länder for the
Prevention of Torture, which is responsible for
facilities at federal-state level. The Federal
Agency and the Joint Commission work
together as a National Agency, and closely
coordinate their activities.
At the federal level, this definition
encompasses all detention facilities operated by
the Federal Armed Forces, Federal Police and
customs authorities. In addition, the Federal
Agency is also responsible for monitoring
deportations carried out by the Federal Police.
In 2018, a total of 21,059 persons were deported
from Germany by air.
Under Article 18 of the OPCAT, the States
Parties are obliged to guarantee the functional
independence of the preventive mechanisms and
to make the necessary financial resources
available.
The vast majority of facilities fall within the
remit of the Joint Commission. These include
prisons, Land police stations with custody cells,
all courts with holding cells, facilities for custody
awaiting
deportation
[Abschiebungshaft],
psychiatric units in specialist clinics and general
hospitals, child and youth welfare facilities with
closed units, and homes for people with
disabilities. Furthermore, all residential care and
nursing homes where measures depriving people
of their liberty are or can be enforced are also
The members of the Federal Agency are
appointed by the Federal Ministry of Justice and
Consumer Protection, while the members of the
Joint Commission are appointed by the
Conference of Ministers of Justice of the Länder.
Furthermore, in November 2017 the Conference
of Ministers of Justice decided that “in future,
civil society organisations should be involved to a
greater extent when appointing the members of
the Joint Commission of the National Agency
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