TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT OF CHILDREN IN UKRAINE

Section 5Analysis of the effectiveness of existing safeguards against tortureThe appeal against actions of colony’s administration to public authoritiesoutside the colony is problematic, as far as all correspondence of the convicts,except for the appeals to the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukrainefor Human Rights, European Court of Human Rights and other relevant internationalorganizations and the prosecutor, in accordance with applicable law,are subject to lustration. That is, even a complaint to territorial departmentsof the State Penitentiary Service concerning the decision, action or inaction ofthe chief of penitentiary body is subject to review, and, therefore, control ofsuch a chief.Numerous documents, which are being adopted at different levels, startingwith the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, contain a large number of declarationsof “improvements”, “perfection”, “rectification”, “assistance”, etc., withoutspecific indicators of change for the better in the juvenile justice. The efficiencyindexes of the activities of agencies and services for children shouldinclude the reduced of the share of juvenile delinquency, and reduction of theproportion of relapse offenses among children, who already had trouble withthe law.The CPC contains no statutory provision that criminal proceedings forjuveniles in general local and appellate courts may be exercised only by thespecifically authorized judges, in the presence of such requirements duringthe preliminary investigation proceedings against bodies of pre-trial investigation(part 2 of art. 484 of the CPC) seems a manifestation of inconsequenceof legislator in relation to the reform of the criminal justice system.Thrusting children of 14 years of age, who are serving sentences in correctionalfacilities, into the job does not contribute to the educational process.At this age children at large are able to concentrate on their studies.171