17 3. Staff members participating in the performance of the tasks of the NPM 3.1. Public servants in the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights By virtue of Article 18, Paragraph 2 of the OPCAT, the States Parties “shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the experts of the national preventive mechanism have the required capabilities and professional knowledge. They shall strive for a gender balance and the adequate representation of ethnic and minority groups in the country.” When performing the tasks of the NPM, I may proceed either personally, or through the authorized staff members of my Office. The investigative powers of the NPM53 are also granted to my colleagues proceeding under my authorization; furthermore, the authorities concerned and their heads, in accordance with Section 25 of the Ombudsman Act, are obliged to cooperate with them as well. 54 From among the public servants of my Office, I have to authorize, on permanent basis, at least eleven people to perform the tasks of the NPM. The “authorized public servant staff members shall be experts with a graduate degree and have an outstanding knowledge in the field of the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty or have at least five years of professional experience.” Among them, “there shall be at least one person recommended by the Deputy Commissioner responsible for the protection of the rights of nationalities living in Hungary and at least two persons each with a degree in law, medicine and psychology respectively. Among the authorized public servant staff members, the number of the representatives of either sex may exceed that of the other by one at the most.”55 The OPCAT NPM Department (hereinafter the “Department”) started its operation on January 1, 2015, with four lawyers and two psychologists. The Department’s gender composition complies with the stipulations of the Ombudsman Act. By April 2015 two more people had been added to the staff of the Department; however, due to the lack of applicants, the positions of physicians could not be filled. During the most part of 2015, the Department performed its tasks with eight staff members instead of eleven. Staff members of the Department (from left to right): senior advisers Gábor Izsák, Krisztina Izsó, Sándor Gurbai, Deputy Head of Department Katalin Haraszti, Head of Department Gergely Fliegauf, senior advisers Judit Zeller, István Sárközy and Rita Rostás See Sections 21, 22, 26 and Section 27, Subsections (1) and (2) of the Ombudsman Act See Section 39/D, Subsection (1) of the Ombudsman Act 55 See Section 39/D, Subsection (3) of the Ombudsman Act 53 54