Due to restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic, the meeting was exceptionally held entirely via video conference.

During the session, the Committee adopted the reports on its ad hoc visits to Bulgaria (August 2020), Croatia (August 2020), France (July 2020), Malta (September 2020) and Ukraine (August 2020). These reports will be transmitted in due course to the respective authorities. In accordance with Article 11, paragraph 2, of the ECPT, the CPT’s reports and related government responses are published only at the request of the authorities (on a case-by-case basis or through a so-called "automatic publication procedure").

The CPT also discussed future visits and continued to have consultations on how the visits could best be carried out in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In this connection, members of the Committee were informed that, on the occasion of two recent visits, a small number of delegation members had tested positive for Covid-19 on their return (most of them being asymptomatic) and that the authorities of the countries concerned had been informed accordingly. The CPT will continue to observe strict preventive measures during its visits which are even more important in the current pandemic.