The Human Rights Protection and Civil Integration Committee considered and approved, in the I reading and under an expedited procedure, amendments to the Penitentiary Code together with related draft laws.

The legislative amendments provide for changes and clarifications to certain regulations related to the functioning of the penitentiary system.

The proposed amendments were introduced by Deputy Justice Minister Giorgi Dgebuadze.

According to Giorgi Dgebuadze, issues concerning the incompatibility of positions held by employees of the Special Penitentiary Service will be regulated not by the Penitentiary Code, but by the Law “On Combating Corruption”.

He stated that, on certain matters, decisions will be made by the General Director of the Special Penitentiary Service instead of the Minister of Justice.

In addition, the structural units of the Special Penitentiary Service will no longer be specifically named in the Penitentiary Code and several other legislative acts. Furthermore, similarly to all subordinate normative acts related to the penitentiary sphere, the statutes of penitentiary institutions will be approved directly by the Minister of Justice, without a submission from the Service’s General Director.

As the Deputy Minister explained, several provisions of the Code specify deadlines in terms of days, although it has not been clarified whether these refer to working days or calendar days. According to him, despite the existence of consistent practice regarding these deadlines, it was considered appropriate to clarify the matter.

“Accordingly, in more than 20 articles of the Code, deadlines expressed in days are being clarified under the principle that deadlines related to the performance of administrative official duties by employees will be defined as working days, while in other cases they will be considered calendar days. In certain instances, taking into account the nature of the deadline, the term ‘day’ will be defined as a 24-hour period, as interpreted and established in practice. These clarifications will, of course, not worsen the legal status of defendants and convicted persons”, - Giorgi Dgebuadze stated.

According to the Deputy Minister, the two-year period since the new Code entered into force, the practice of implementing specific provisions of the Code, and the process of working on subordinate legislative acts derived from it have highlighted the need for a comprehensive technical review of the Code.

“As a result of the review, several issues and regulations — in most cases of a technical nature — were identified that require further clarification, updated regulation, and in some cases, the elimination of shortcomings. Consequently, the need arose to introduce appropriate unified amendments to the Code, aimed at better realization of the rights of defendants and convicted persons and at ensuring the effective functioning of the penitentiary system”, - Giorgi Dgebuadze stated.