A Guide for National Preventive Mechanisms on the monitoring of implementation of the European Commission Recommendation on procedural rights of suspects and accused persons subject to pre-trial detention and on material detention conditions.

The practical guide for NPMs to monitor and report on the implementation of the Commission Recommendationon procedural rights of suspects and accused persons subject to pre-trial detention and on material detention conditions provides a general guidance, based on existing international and regional standards and best NPM practices in the field. Individual NPMs are encouraged to adapt and choose specific strategies and methodologies which fully consider the national legislation, institutional framework and country specific context.

The guide was developed by Julia Kozma (former CPT member, UN SPT member), Anton Van Kalmthout (former CPT member) and Victor Zaharia (CPT member, UN SPT member), in the framework of the joint EU-Council of Europe project “Support to Council of Europe for EU network of prison monitoring bodies“ (European NPM forum), with kind contributions and support of the NPMs of France (Anne Sophie Bonnet), Italy (Antonella Dionisi), Poland (Aleksandra Nowicka), and Slovenia (Ivan Selih) and the Inspector of Prisons of Ireland (Mark Kelly), as well as of the Council of Europe’s Transversal Challenges and Multilateral Projects Division.

The guide is available in its full version and is also accessible by chapters via the two sections below.