Issues on conditional early release are in the focus of the Ministry of Justice; working group has been set up

Deputy Minister of Justice Levon Balyan delivered welcoming remarks at the first meeting of the working group set up to review the system of conditional early release from serving punishment, in accordance with the principles of safety, security and social re-integration. The Deputy Minister presented the goals and objectives of the working group, particularly the vision for reforms of the system within a three-month period as provided for by the order, as well as the need to have a roadmap for actions to implement the vision and to submit the roadmap to the Minister of Justice. The members of the working group considered and submitted proposals regarding the current problems of the system of conditional early release from serving punishment, particularly the change of procedure for preparation of the relevant reports of the Penitentiary and Probation Services, the review of the circumstances for assessing the likelihood of a convict committing a new offence, the application of a toolkit for conditional early release and review of the scoring system, the regulation of the issues related to the employment of convicts and the need to vest the Probation Service with wider powers. Summing up the meeting, Levon Balyan emphasised that development of the institution of conditional early release in Armenia will be possible through the development of new proposals following change of the existing system and local needs assessment.