CPT _2010_ 82 - EN - Report Armenia 2010 _2_ - The Government ...

Respective measures have been taken and are now underway for the solution ofproblems in relation to the overcrowding and facility conditions of penitentiaryestablishments. The Programme for the Reforms of the Penitentiary System approvedin 2010 by the Government of the Republic of Armenia provided for implementation ofreforms in several directions. Naturally, these reforms should first of all relate to thelegislative definition of the status of the Service. For these purposes in 2003 the Lawof the Republic of Armenia “On penitentiary service” was adopted, and the improvedversion of the mentioned Law was adopted in 2005. Up to now many legal acts havebeen adopted for the purpose of properly ensuring the activities of the PenitentiaryService. Besides the legal framework, the programme for reforms also provided forpractical and infrastructure-related measures. The latter implied bringing thePenitentiary Service, particularly the logistics of penitentiary establishments, in linewith both the new living conditions and international standards. In other words, it isnecessary to terminate the functioning of old and non-optimally operated penitentiaryestablishments, transform the existing premises and bring them in compliance with theinternational standards and build new penitentiary establishments meeting theinternational standards. It is natural that the conditions of already obsolescent andphysically depreciated premises of the establishments inherited from the soviet timesare not suitable for execution of punishment in conformity with the internationalstandards of human rights. In the initial phase of the Programme for Reforms of thePenitentiary Service, i.e. in 2001-2006, four penitentiary establishments have beenrenovated as a temporary measure of solving the problems faced by the system.Certainly, it should be noted that even with the repaired establishments we can hardlysay that the system infrastructures fully comply with the European standards. In otherwords, penitentiary establishments repaired within the framework of reformsimplemented so far may be considered solely as a transitional phase.Having studied the experience of other countries as regards having prisonsmeeting the present international standards it was concluded that it is possible to havesuch prisons not through bringing the existing prisons — not complying with