committee issued a positive opinion, and that any possibility of consent, in lieu of the person
with a mental disorder, by his/her legal guardian is excluded. Furthermore, it is necessary to
prescribe that electroconvulsive therapy may be used only in its modified form (under
anaesthesia and myorelaxation). Although, according to the available information,
electroconvulsive therapy in Croatia is applied only in its modified form, a legal exclusion of
the possibility to use this medical procedure in another form would further improve the
protection of persons with mental disorders from potential abuse i.e. inhuman treatment.
We support the introduction of the "person of trust" as a novelty in the Croatian legal system,
because in this way unnecessary placement of persons with mental disorders under
guardianship exclusively for the purpose of their medical treatment may be avoided.
2.3. International cooperation within the performance of NPM activities
In the last year we participated in a meeting held in Belgrade, where the Declaration on
Cooperation was adopted, thus establishing the South East Europe NPM Network. The
meeting was attended by representatives of the NPMs of Albania, Croatia, Macedonia,
Montenegro, Slovenia and Serbia, the Ombudsman from Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as
by representatives of the EU, CoE, APT, CPT and SPT. Additionally, we participated in the
first meeting of the SEE NPM Network's medical group, in which the inclusion and position
of physicians in the performance of NPM activities was discussed. Based on past experiences,
joining the Network's activities has proven to be very useful, as on two occasions we
ourselves, via a prepared questionnaire, collected information about the organisation and
activities of the NPM in member countries.
In the last year we have also participated at two international conferences in Strasbourg. The
first conference, on the topic of protecting the rights of detained persons and prisoners, was
organised by the Academy of European Law. The role of CPT and SPT as well as possible
alternatives to imprisonment were among the topics discussed at the conference. The second
conference, on the topic of immigration detention, was held within the Council of Europe's
plenary session organised by the Council of Europe and NPM United Kingdom. The
conference was attended by representatives of the NPMs from entire Europe and
representatives of international institutions involved in the prevention and combating of
torture. The principal topics of discussion were related to immigrants in immigration centres,
with special emphasis on the access to legal aid and procedural rights, issues related to
women and other vulnerable groups, health insurance and safety of immigrants placed in
immigration detention centres.
Furthermore, acting in line with the CPT's request, we visited Bjelovar County Prison and
Sisak County Prison and interviewed the prisoner who, during the CPT's visit to Croatia in
September 2012, complained about the conditions of serving a prison sentence at Glina State
Prison and Sisak County Prison. All established findings were listed in the report which was
delivered to the CPT.
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