Justice Minister: new penitentiary code “one of great achievements of modern Georgia”
Bregadze added the experiences of inmates, their family members, relatives and penitentiary system employees would be an “ideal way” to assess the effectiveness of the code. Photo: Ministry of Justice of Georgia press office
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Georgian Justice Minister Rati Bregadze on Tuesday told Imedi TV the implementation of the new penitentiary code was “one of the great achievements of modern Georgia”.
Bregadze said “all relevant agencies” and the non-governmental sector had been involved in the development of the draft for the code, with “over 90 percent” of recommendations in feedback “fully considered”.
The standard of legal protection of convicts is increasing. At the same time, our honoured employees will have better working conditions and more social security”, he said.
The Minister noted standards of conditions of those charged were increasing and becoming equal to the circumstances of offenders. He also noted his office’s preliminary data had received “excellent reviews” from “many of our colleagues”.
Bregadze added the experiences of inmates, their family members, relatives and penitentiary system employees would be an “ideal way” to assess the effectiveness of the code.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday highlighted the decreasing number of cases filed against conditions in the country’s penitentiary system in the European Court of Human Rights, in his end-of-year report summarising the work of his Government.
Ongoing reforms in Georgia’s penitentiary system, including efforts aimed at ensuring accessible education and digital university for inmates, were discussed on Wednesday in a meeting between the country’s Justice Minister Rati Bregadze and heads of the United States Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Georgian Justice Minister Rati Bregadze on Monday unveiled a new “small-sized, highest European-standard” penitentiary facility designed for 700 convicts in the western Georgian town of Laituri in Guria region.
Convicts and employees of penitentiary institutions across Georgia will receive public services at their facilities in a project promoted as a “Georgian innovation” by the Justice Ministry.
Georgia’s Justice Ministry has received 10 devices providing electronic control and services of probationers and 50 pieces of monitoring tags for those under house arrest from the United States Embassy.