Briefing
In December 2012 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems by unanimous consent in Resolution A/RES/67/187. This briefing provides the background and reasons for why this soft law document is needed for ensuring access to justice. It also summaries the content of the Principles […]
Languages: English
Report
Alternatives to imprisonment in Pakistan have their legal basis at the pre-trial stage in the form of bail; at the sentencing stage with fines and probation; and at the post-sentencing stage with parole. Probation and parole are, however, underused, despite significant overcrowding in the country’s prisons and widely accepted evidence globally that alternatives to imprisonment […]
Languages: English, Urdu
Submission
Call to parliamentarians, while they work towards the post-2015 agenda, to take into account all drivers of poverty, including unfair criminal justice systems and disproportionate imprisonment, which indirectly criminalise the poor and marginalised, and work towards promoting and protecting the rule of law and access to justice as a founding norm for achieving sustainable development.
Languages: English
Model for Reform
Making Law and Policy that Work is aimed at specialists and non-specialists faced with the responsibility of creating a policy and legislative framework for criminal justice and penal systems. It recognises that criminal justice reform requires expertise and experience in a variety of disciplines which are rarely embodied in one person. It takes into account the […]
Languages: English, French, Spanish
Report
This desk review (a working draft) aims to increase understanding of the specific legal and policy measures that can work to prevent and remedy violence against children in detention. The review focuses on eight countries: Bangladesh, Georgia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tanzania and Uganda. For each country the review aims to: identify policy and legislative measures […]
Languages: English
International Standard
These include: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (Article 9 and Article 14) Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment (1988) UN Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems (2012) UN Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (the ‘Tokyo Rules’) […]
Languages: English
Training
Over the past 15 years, paralegals have become an increasingly important part of the criminal justice system in developing countries. As well as providing legal information and basic legal advice to people in conflict with the law, some paralegal services also provide food and medical supplies to people in detention and a presence at police […]
Languages: English
Submission
PRI, in conjunction with OSJI and IJJO, submitted an oral statement to the Council highlighting the impact of extensive periods of pre-trial detention on the social and mental development of juveniles and increasing prevalence of mental health problems amongst juveniles in contact with the criminal justice system. During the afternoon session of the meeting Dr. […]
Languages: English
Report
Excessive use of pre-trial detention is a global problem. According to the Open Society Justice Initiative, on any given day an estimated 3 million people around the world are under pre-trial detention. In the course of a single year around 10 million will be detained awaiting trial. This research presents views of different parties who […]
Languages: English
Report
Penal Reform International’s work from 1998 to 2010 in the Great Lakes region of Africa aimed to reduce the pre-trial prison population. The organisation monitored the process of Gacaca – the name given to the system of community-based courts for prosecuting genocide suspects – and its work expanded to include providing paralegal services. In July […]
Languages: English