In Armenia preparations for the process of transferring the prison administration
from the Ministry of Interior to the Ministry of Justice are underway. The transfer will
be accompanied by the formulation of new reformed legislation
Over the past months PRI has established a close working
relationship with the Armenian Ministry of Justice and has been providing the Ministry
with information on issues relating to the transfer of the prison system and other
materials on prison reform.
PRI Regional Director, and development officer visited
Armenia between 29 – 31 July, where they held meetings with the Minister and Deputy
Minister of Justice of Armenia; the Head and Deputy Head of the Department of Execution of
Criminal Punishment, officials from the Ministry of Interior, Deputy Head of Mission at
the UK Embassy; a representative of the Know How Fund; representatives from the
International Committee of the Red Cross; the programme coordinator for the European
Initiative for Democracy and the Protection of Human Rights and representatives from the Open Society Institute.
The Armenian Ministry of Justice sought PRI’s
assistance in a number of areas. These include a request for further materials,
specifically the criminal codes in Russian of those countries where the codes provide for
alternatives to prison and other materials in Russian concerning approaches, laws and
practices in countries that have already demilitarized their prison administrations. They
also sought PRI’s assistance in identifying a legal
expert and funding his/her visit to Armenia to assist with the drafting of the new Penalty
Execution Code and the organization of a study visit for representatives from the Ministry
of Justice and the Prison Service to a country in Central or Eastern Europe where the
transfer of the prison system is either underway or has already been completed.
In February, a special National Assembly session adopted a package of bills including a
bill on “the activities of the judicial system of the Republic of Armenia in the
transition period of the judicial and legal reforms”, another bill on the Prosecutor’s
Office, as well as one on the general and special parts of the Code of Criminal Procedure
of Armenia.
At its next session, in the autumn of 1998, the parliament will discuss a number of
bills closely connected with the judicial and legal reforms, in particular, the bills on
police, operative investigation, criminal code and the code of criminal execution.
When asked about the necessity of the “law on making amendments in the corrective
labour code”, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on State and Legal
Issues, Artur Baghdassarian, said that the necessity of adopting the law was conditioned
by parliament hearings through which parliamentarians visited a number of penitentiaries.
The new law provides for the improvement of the living standards of prisoners. It
allows a prisoner to receive up to 50 kg of parcels as well as to hold long meetings and
telephone conversations, Baghdassarian reported.
In addition prisoners who serve a quarter of their term on good behaviour will be
granted the right to request better living arrangements such as moving from a high
security facility to a general security facility. Privileges have also been established
for convicted women and minors. Baghdassarian said that the changes in the law will make
it possible to release nearly 950 prisoners and mitigate the sentences of others.
Source: Asbarez Online Top Stories, 7 February 1998
New
reformed legislation