Print Decree, 18 November 2005, No. "QH-66-N", In force: 2 December 2005, Gov. Reg. No.: 10205450
REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA MINISTER OF JUSTICE
D E C R E E
”____” __________________ , 2005 No. _____
Yerevan
ON APPROVING THE REGULATION ON CONDUCTING PUBLIC MONITORING IN THE PENITENTIARY INSTITUTIONS AND ENTITIES UNDER THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA AND THE STRUCTURE OF THE GROUP OF PUBLIC MONITORS
Led by Article 47 of the Republic of Armenia Law on Holding Detained and Arrested Individuals and Article 21 of the Republic of Armenia Penitentiary Code,
I hereby decree:
1. Approve the Regulation on Conducting Public Monitoring in the Penitentiary Institutions and Entities under the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia in accordance with Annex 1.
2. Approve the Structure of the Group Conducting Public Monitoring in the Penitentiary Institutions and Entities (hereinafter referred to as Group) under the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia in accordance with Annex 2.
3. Revoke Decrees of the RoA Minister of Justice #246-N dated July 16, 2003 and #KH-18-A dated April 28, 2004.
4. To the Head of Penitentiary Department of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia:
a) Within a 5-day period prepare and submit for my signature documents, i.e. certificates certifying membership of persons included in the structure of the Group;
b) Within a 10-day period provide the list of the Group to heads of penitentiary institutions and entities.
MINISTER
D. HARUTYUNYAN
Annex 1
Decree ______________ of 2005
Of RoA Minister of Justice
REGULATION
on Conducting Public Monitoring in the Penitentiary Institutions and Entities under the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia
CHAPTER 1: General Provisions
1. This legal act defines the regulation on conducting public monitoring in the penitentiary institutions and entities under the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia and responsibilities of public monitors.
Public monitoring in penitentiary institutions and entities under the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia is conducted by the group of public monitors. The Group of Public Monitors(henceforth, the Group) is a supervisory body that deals with the protection of the rights and freedoms of individuals (henceforth, Inmates) held in detention places and correctional institutions of the penitentiary service (henceforth, the Penitentiary Institutions), as well as individuals who are under the oversight of penitentiary entities.
2. The goals of the activities of the Group are:
1) To exercise public control over the protection of rights of inmates and persons under the oversight of penitentiary entities, to improve the working and living conditions for inmates in penitentiary institutions, and to inform the public about issues faced by the penitentiary service;
2) To reveal any human rights violations in the penitentiary service and to take preventive actions;
3) To analyze the situation in penitentiary institutions and entities, and to present its findings and recommendations to the Ministry of Justice and to the public;
4) to study the penitentiary legislation and, if necessary, to propose both amendments thereto and the drafting of new legal acts; and
5) To assist in solving other problems related to inmates held in penitentiary institutions, as well as individuals who are under the oversight of penitentiary entities.
CHAPTER 2: Structure of the Group
3. The structure of the Group shall be approved by a decree of the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia.
An individual who wishes to become a member of the Group shall submit an application, copy of the passport, an autobiography, reference from his/her referring organization, the by-laws of the organization, and a brief description of its activities. The candidacy of an applicant shall be discussed at the regular meeting of the Group. A decision on accepting a new member to the Group shall be passed by a two-thirds’ majority of votes. Extract of the decision shall be submitted to the Republic of Armenia Minister of Justice for approval. Preference shall be given to organizations, the activities of which over the past year have dealt with the implementation of objectives set out under clause 2 of this Regulation or the activities of which deals with the protection of human rights.
The Group shall elect a Chairperson and, if necessary, also a Deputy Chairperson or Deputies from among its members for a period of one year. The Chairperson of the Group (and in his/her absence, the Deputy or one of the Deputies) shall administer the activities of the Group.
4. The Group comprises no less than seven and no more than twenty-one members. Each non-governmental organization may have one representative in the Group.
5. New members shall be added to the Group in accordance with the procedure laid down in this Regulation.
CHAPTER 3: Requirements for Group Members
6. Any citizen of the Republic of Armenia who has a command of Armenian and is at least 18 years old may become a group member, regardless of nationality, race, gender, reliogion, political or other views, social origin, property or other status.
7. Preference shall be given to individuals who have been qualified as lawyers, pedagogues, physicians and persons having professional working experience.
8. A group member must demonstrate himself/herself as an highly ethical individual.
CHAPTER 4: Persons that May Not Become Members of the Group
9. An individual cannot be a member of the Group if he/she:
1) was found by court to not have or to have limited work capacity;
2) was convicted for a crime, and the conviction has not been taken away or extinguished according to the established procedure;
3) has a disease that can obstruct the performance of his/her duties;
4) is a public servant;
5) is a member of any political party; or
6) is a defense lawyer.
CHAPTER 5: Powers of the Group
10. The Group shall operate on voluntary grounds.
11. In its activities, the Group shall be governed by the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, the legislation of the Republic of Armenia, this Regulation, and the Code of Ethics of the Group.
The Group shall collaborate with the administration of penitentiary institutions and entities.
12. Members of the Group are entitled to unhindered access to penitentiary institutions and entities, to examine the content of various documents including, with the consent of inmates personal files and correspondence, save for confidential documents of individuals who are under the oversight of penitentiary entities , the situation in the institution, and to meet inmates and individuals under the oversight of penitentiary entities.
13. A Group member is retained in the Group for a term of three years.
A Group member shall receive from the Republic of Armenia Ministry of Justice a document, i.e. certificate (Form 1) certifying his/her membership in the Group.
The list of the Group members shall be provided to the penitentiary institutions and entities.
CHAPTER 6: Procedure of Monitoring
14. The monitoring shall be conducted by means of visiting penitentiary institutions and entities and submitting reports on its visits to the Republic of Armenia Ministry of Justice and the public.
Two types of reports shall be presented – regular and annual and the Republic of Armenia Ministry of Justice shall comment on them.
Regular reports may cover cases of violation of the rights of inmates and individuals under the oversight of penitentiary entities, specific cases of hindering the exercise of the Group's powers by the penitentiary institutions and entities. Comments on the regular reports shall be submitted within a month.
Annual reports may cover the activities of each penitentiary institution and entity, general situation in penitentiary institutions, main problems and recommended solutions, outcomes of the work conducted by the Group, etc.
The reports prepared on the basis of visits to penitentiary institutions and entities or sections thereof may be published alongside with the comments of the Republic of Armenia Ministry of Justice.
15. In order to ensure fully-fledged monitoring, the Group shall visit all the penitentiary institutions at least once a year and all penitentiary entities at least twice a year.
16. A Group member may visit penitentiary institutions or entities on any day (including non-working days). At least two members of the Group shall take part in each visit.
A member of the Group may, as a rule, meet an inmate in privacy and at the wish of the Group member – in the presence of a representative of the penitentiary institution administration.
17. If necessary, the Group may mobilize in its activities experts in relevant professional fields, including defense lawyers. At the request of the Group, the Republic of Armenia Ministry of Justice shall issue a temporary pass for the expert to visit penitentiary institutions and entities.
An expert may visit penitentiary institutions and entities only with the members of the Group.
CHAPTER 7: Meetings of the Group and Procedure of Decision Making
18. The Group shall summon and hold meetings at least once a month. During such meetings, decisions will be made. Meetings of the Group shall, as a rule, be held in camera, and at the decision of the Group - open-doors and may be attended by representatives of the mass media. Group members shall be given advance notice of the agenda of the meeting.
19. An extraordinary meeting may be convened by:
1) Each member of the Group; or
2) The Republic of Armenia Minister of Justice.
20. A meeting of the Group shall be considered valid if more than half of the members of the Group are present.
More than half of the members of the Group need to vote for a decision to be adopted (save for decisions on the inclusion of a new member into the Group, the approval of the Code of Ethics of the Group, and the termination of the powers of a Group member).
All Group members shall sign under the decision of approving regular or annual reports. Where one of the Group members does not agree with any of the points in the report approved under the decision it is being noted correspondingly or individual opinion is being attached to the report.
21. Any member of the Group may express his or her personal opinion by means of publicizing it or having it incorporated it in the minutes.
The Code of Ethics of the Group shall be approved in a meeting of the Group by the approval of two thirds of the Group members.
CHAPTER 8: Suspension and Termination of Powers of a Group Member
22. The powers of a Group member shall be suspended under a decree of the Republic of Armenia Minister of Justice if:
1) if a decision on detention or arrest has been made; or
2) if two thirds of the members of the Group have submitted a request to this end.
Powers of the Group member are recovered under the decree of the Republic of Armenia Minister of Justice if grounds specified under sub-point 1 of this part have been removed or two thirds of the members of the Group have submitted a request on recovering powers of the Group member.
23. The powers of a Group member shall be terminated under a decree of the Republic of Armenia Minister of Justice if:
1) the term of the powers of a Group member has elapsed;
2) there is an application in which the Group member requests to terminate his/her powers;
3) there is an application in which the organization that has proposed the candidacy of the Group member in question requests either to terminate the powers of the Group member or to replace him/her with another candidate;
4) the grounds referred to in Part 9 of this Regulation are present;
5) the Group member in question has violated the provisions of this Regulation, Code of Ethics of the activities of the Group, or legal acts regulating activities of the penitentiary service; or
6) if two thirds of the members of the Group have submitted a request to this end.