Type of Mechanism	Reporting and Monitoring through the submission of an "application."
Scope of the Procedure	The Committee operates in only those countries that have ratified the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (ECPT).  The Committee visits places of detention, understood broadly to include prisons, police cells, military barracks, mental hospitals etc.
Who can Submit a Report	Any citizen or groups of citizens from a country that is a member of the Council of Europe and has ratified the ECPT.
Role of Advocates	NGOs can also provide the Committee with information related to a country visit, in the form of communications or "application."
Available Remedies	No remedies for individual rights violations.  The Committee drafts a non-binding report with findings, recommendations and advice on the country in question.
How to Submit a Report	There is no format for submitting information to the Committee, but the report should allege violations of the ECPT by the country to which a Committee visit is scheduled, or request an ad hoc visit.
Where to Send Communications	European Committee for the Prevention of Torture The Council of Europe F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex France   Tel + 00 33 3 88 41 2388 Fax + 00 33 3 88 41 2772 Email cptdoc@coe.int
How the Reporting Procedure Works	The Committee, composed of independent experts, is empowed by the ECPT to carry out visits of places of detention of any kind and then examine the treatment of detainees.     The Committee can make recommendations to the State party.  The Committee's mandate is to work cooperatively with member States, and so it is not a judicial body and does not issue judgments in individual cases.    The Committee caries out periodic visits to all State parties and can also undertake ad hoc visits.   Committee reports remain confidential, unless a State fails to follow the recommendations.  At this point, the Committee may make their report public.  The Committee does, however, make public the countries that it will visit in a given year.
Advantages/ Disadvantages	Committee reports are confidential and are generally given weight by State parties.   The Committee cannot issues legally binding judgments and is limited in the scope of its visits and the number of country visits it can undertake each year.

Adapted in part from Women's Human Rights Step by Step, Women Law & Development International and Human Rights Watch Women's Rights Project (1997).

Additional Resources

The website of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment includes general information about the Committee, information about country visits, documents and reports and a searchable database of Committee materials.

Frontline, an Irish NGO, has created a Human Rights Defenders Manual, which includes some information on communication to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.