Independence of National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs) FANCPT as to the appropriate institutional form for the Commission or as to the government department to which it should be attached.50 In view of the fact that the domestic implementation of international human rights obligations falls largely within the responsibility of the FDJP, attachment of the NCPT to that department appeared at the time to be the most reasonable solution. The Commission’s establishment and structure as conceived in the draft version of the Act were largely based on the model of existing nonparliamentary commissions51. The principle of independence was anchored in Art. 4 of the FANCPT and given concrete expression by description of the NCPT as a fully independent commission. As a result of this independence and the nature of its responsibilities and mission, which does not include any advisory function, the NCPT must be categorised as a commission sui generis, of a nature distinct from that of non-parliamentary commissions.52 In terms of administrative law, the NCPT is designated under the Ordinance on Government and Administration Organisation [Regierungs- und Verwaltungsorganisationsverordnung] (RVOV) as an “organisationally independent administrative unit without legal personality”, that is, as a body whose organisational independence is established by statute, but which is nevertheless not an independent legal entity. In addition to the NCPT, the Swiss Federal Audit Office, the Federal Office for the Oversight of Intelligence Activities, and the Federal Office for Oversight of the Office of the Attorney General also have a similar status under administrative law.53 The NCPT was attached administratively to the General Secretariat of the FDJP54 and thus belongs to the decentralised Federal Administration. In the performance of its mandate, the Commission is “not subordinated to direction, unless otherwise provided by Cf. AB 2007 S 1088 / BO 2007 E 1088; AB 2008 N 1940 / BO 2008 N 1940 und AB 2009 S 97 / BO 2009 E 97. 50 Cf. Art. 7a, para. 1 (a), of the Regierungs- und Verwaltungsorganisationsverordnung (RVOV) vom 25. November 1998 [Federal Ordinance of 25 November 1998 on Government and Administration Organisation], SR 172.010.1 51 Notes to the Appendix to the RVOV, p. 20. 52 RVOV, Appendix 1, sect. III, 2.1.3 RVOV. 53 Cf. the draft E-RVOV Art. 7b, para. 2 (b); implemented in Art. 4 para. 4 of the Organisational Ordinance of the Federal Department of Justice and Police [Organisationsverordnung für das Eidgenössische Justiz- und Polizeidepartement (OVEJPD)] of 17 November 1999, SR 172.213.1. 54 38 Activity Report NCPT 2017