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activities, the CPT has developed certain standards concerning persons deprived of their liberty which have been used in a number of cases by the ECtHR as a point of reference when assessing whether in a concrete case, the facts complained of constitute a violation of the ECHR. It should also be added that the facts found during CPT’s visits are regularly used by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers when supervising the execution of judgments of the ECtHR by member States. Indeed, the CPT also co-operates with bodies outside the Council of Europe, including most prominently the United Nations Sub-Committee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT) . This body was created by the 2002 Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) and has a similar mandate to that of the CPT at the United Nations level. The OPCAT also provides for the creation of National Preventive Mechanisms (NPM) as independent national bodies to prevent torture and ill treatment at domestic level. When visiting a Council of Europe state which is also a State Party to OPCAT, the CPT systematically holds consultations with the NPM. Questions: 1. What is the main task of the CPT? Is the CPT a judicial mechanism which deals with individual complaints? 2. How are places which fall within the CPT’s mandate generally defined? Can you give a concrete example of the type of places visited by the CPT? 3. Are members of the CPT representing the interests of the countries in respect of which they have been elected? Do all members have to be fully qualified lawyers? 4. Are members of staff working in the establishment visited (such as police or prison officers) present during interviews carried out by CPT’s delegations? 5. Is the assessment carried out by the CPT limited to ill-treatment of persons deprived of their liberty by staff in the strict sense? If not, can you give examples of other areas which are examined by the CPT during its visits? 6. Does a CPT report become automatically public once it has been transmitted to the State Party concerned? 7. How would you describe the link between the CPT and the ECtHR?

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