Concept paper on revising the system of conditional early release from serving sentence presented to CoE expert

Deputy Minister of Justice Levon Balyan delivered opening remarks at a public discussion on the concept on revising the system of conditional early release from serving a sentence. The Deputy Minister noted that the introduction of a new concept paper on revising the system of conditional early release from serving a sentence is an important step for ensuring preparedness of convicts to return to society and the opportunities for reintegration. The concept paper was drafted by a Working Group established under the Order of the Minister of Justice and through the joint efforts of experts and civil society representatives involved in the process. During the meeting, the concept paper on revising the system of conditional early release from serving a sentence was presented, and it was highlighted that the principle of re-socialisation lied at the core of development of the concept paper. In particular, the proposed reforms for the introduction of step-by-step mechanisms for application of the CER institution, the advancement of re-socialisation programmes, the revision of the scoring system for reports and the format for preparation of reports, which will provide the opportunity for a differentiated assessment of specific and real successes of convicts and to distinguish them from demonstration of certain behaviour for achievement of unreal and short-term goals. The presentation of the new concept paper was followed by a question-and-answer session during which the participants agreed to submit written recommendations. The CoE international experts and colleagues attached importance to the role of the reforms that Armenia is carrying out to create a perfect system. Summing up the meeting, the Deputy Minister expressed gratitude to the participants for the fruitful discussion and to the CoE colleagues for the support provided.

The meeting was held by the Council of Europe within the scope of the “Strengthening the Protection of the Rights of Persons in Detention” Project.