Despite many positive reforms and success in moving away from the punitive penal policies of the Soviet era, criminal justice systems in the South Caucasus face a number of challenges.
Corruption is a persistent problem, particularly in Armenia and Azerbaijan. Trained pre-independence, members of the judiciary lack full independence and expertise, often resulting in the over-use of custodial sentences. Transition from Soviet-style prison colony to cell-type prisons is an ongoing challenge, along with maintaining and replacing buildings that were not originally designed as places of detention and which are unfit for habitation.
PRI has been working in the region since 1999. Our South Caucasus regional office is in Tbilisi, Georgia, and operates in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Current work focuses on:
- torture prevention and improving independent public oversight of places of detention
- promoting non-custodial sanctions
- building the capacity of prison and probation services
- improving justice for children.
Latest updates
Blog post
The Meaning of Rehabilitation-Resocialization and its Regulation Based on National and International Standards
Georgia has a young democracy, and the country’s supreme law, the constitution, in the preamble states the priority of establishing the democratic social order, economic freedom, and a legal and social state, which guarantees the universally recognized human rights and freedoms. Therefore, it is the priority of the state to develop and improve the institutions designed to protect basic human rights and freedoms, especially in the implementation of criminal justice policy by the state. The liberal criminal justice policy carried out in the country raised the discussion on the purposes of punishment, in particular, the rehabilitation and resocialization of convicted individuals, and due to the topicality of the issue, the present essay will focus on the meaning and aims of rehabilitation and resocialization of the convicted persons and measures that are necessary for the efficiency of this process.
13th August 2019
Blog post
“People Like Me”and “Others”
During the hot July of 2018 I was taking the Unified National Exams. My third exam was in English language. I arrived early at the examination centre. There was a prisoner in front of me during the registration, maybe of my age or slightly older, accompanied by two escorts. After redirecting him to the exam room, the registrar said - hopefully he will be placed with the ones like him. My exam room was next to that exam room. I did not look inside, but I knew that there were “people like me” as well. Unfortunately for the registrar, the prisoners were not placed in isolated exam rooms.
13th August 2019
Blog post
Women Prisoners in Georgia – Stigma with 5 Dots
This blog explores the stigma attached to women who go to prison in Georgia.
13th August 2019