Alternative Sentencing Conference, Tbilisi 23 September 2010

 

Community sentencing is already an important focus point in the Georgian criminal justice field. In the Criminal Justice Reform Strategy pages 20-21 (English version) it is stated that:

 

"2.3. Alternatives to pre-trial/trial detention and community work

 

In order to ensure wider application of alternatives to imprisonment in the form of correctional labor (community work), legislative, institutional and practical arrangements shall be available for outsourcing probation tasks to legal entities of public law, private vendors or non-governmental organizations.

 

Supervision and responsibilities of third-party vendors for correctional labor of released inmates should be clearly defined in standard template of contract between the government and the institution in question. In special cases, the state should retain mechanisms of supervision and control where concerns of public safety are particularly evident.

 

The new Code of Criminal Procedure, which contains extended provisions that provide expanded list of non-custodial measures of coercion, as well as for wider possibilities for their application, should be passed by the Parliament promptly and discussion should take place in an open and public manner."

 

In the Action plan for Penitentiary System Reform it is indicated as follows:

 

3.8. Community labor schemes are widely used as an alternative to imprisonment 2010-2013 400 000 State Budget Ministry of Corrections and Legal Assistance Community labor used more widely, as confirmed by normative acts in force, statistics and monitoring reports

3.9. Community labor is outsourced to external actors on the basis of a standard template of contract 2010-2013 200 000 State Budget Ministry of Corrections and Legal Assistance Standard template of outsourcing contract available, community labor outsourcing reported

 

For the Probation Service it is similarly stated:

 

4.6.Community service is an imposable sanction and its implementation improved 2011-2013 State Budget - 30000

Donor funding – 40 000 Ministry of Corrections and Legal Assistance

Donor organisations  

 

With reference to, and respect for, the goals set out in the Georgian strategy and action plan, the conference aims at supporting Georgian government in their endeavours towards alternative sentencing. It will include speeches on the general justification of community sentences, as well as discussions on practical issues related to the execution phase.

 

We hope that the conference will be a constructive arena for discussion and exchange of experience.

 

Please note that neither the topics nor the details of the program have been finally decided.

 

For more information about the conference contact: tchanturia@penalreform.org