NCJ Number
201607
Journal
Penological Information Bulletin Issue: 23, 24 Dated: December 2002 Pages: 10-38
Editor(s)
Stephanos Stavros
Date Published
December 2002
Length
29 pages
Annotation
This report on the 24th Conference of European Ministers of Justice held in Moscow on October 4-5, 2001, focuses on Resolution No. 2, which pertains to the implementation of long-term prison sentences; this Resolution is viewed as particularly important for the development of penological cooperation in Europe.
Abstract
The Resolution notes that the enforcement of long-term sentences and life sentences poses a heavy burden on prison administrations and on society as a whole. The Resolution also recognizes that in many European countries the number and length of long-term sentences have increased, contributing to prison overcrowding and the impairment of the effective and humane management of inmates in accordance with international human rights standards. The primary thrust of the Resolution is to support the work undertaken by the Committee of Experts on the Management of Life-sentenced and Other Long-term Prisoners (PC-LT) in its efforts to develop guidelines for good practice. In addition to the content of Resolution No. 2, this article also contains a report presented at the conference by the Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation. In discussing the implementation of long-term prison sentences, the report by the Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation discusses the determination of the long-term imprisonment concept, the classification and allocation of prisoners, educational activities and labor in penal institutions, earlier conditional release, the execution of sentences as related to foreigners and stateless persons, and the penal system and the private sector. Also included in this article are reports from individual countries represented at the conference regarding policies and conditions pertinent to long-term inmates in the country.