Parole system in Armenia needs urgent reform, says OSCE-supported study

YEREVAN, 2 March 2012 – The results and recommendations of an OSCE-supported study on early conditional release system (parole) in Armenia were discussed today in Yerevan.

The study was carried out between May and September 2011 by the non-governmental organization Civil Society Institute with the support of the OSCE Office in Yerevan. Officials and experts engaged in the early conditional release system, including judges, advocates, current and former members of independent commissions gave their views in anonymous interviews. The aim of the study was to promote the reform of criminal justice, especially of the conditional release system to help decrease the prison population.

“The study highlighted concerns and dissatisfaction over the functioning of early conditional release mechanism in Armenia, which are frequently voiced,” said Vladimir Tchountoulov, the Human Rights Officer of the OSCE Office in Yerevan. “We hope that the recommendations included in the study will help to improve the system and to raise confidence in the criminal justice system, as well as effectiveness of rehabilitation efforts.”

The study analyzes Armenian legislation in the light of international standards and good practices. It offers a set of recommendations regarding principles and criteria for taking decisions on early conditional release, the role of penitentiary institutions in the process, supervision mechanisms, as well as ways of changing conditions and revoking decisions.

Arman Danielyan, the President of the Civil Society Institute added: “Reforming the early conditional release system in Armenia and raising its effectiveness will require several years of continuous efforts. It is necessary to review powers, composition and procedures of decision making bodies and to introduce new tools and mechanisms. Penitentiary system staff should not be the ones to take such decisions. Besides, an independent probation service staffed with specially trained professionals needs to be established.”

The reforms of conditional release system are part of the draft of the Legal and Judicial Reform Programme of the Republic of Armenia for 2012-2016.

Electronic version of the study is available at: www.osce.org/yerevan/88559