Doc. 9758

1 April 2003

Presidential Pardon Commission of the Federation of Russia

Written Question No. 407

Reply from the Committee of Ministers

adopted at the 833^rd meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (26 March 2003)

I. Written Question No. 407 by Mr Bindig (Doc. 9364)

Recalling that, at the end of December last year, the President of the Russian Federation dissolved the Presidential Pardon Commission by decree, ordering its replacement by regional commissions, which have, however, yet to be set up;

In view of the fact that the Presidential Pardon Commission acted as a de facto parole board in the Russian Federation, and treated tens of thousands of requests in the past few years,

To ask the Committee of Ministers,

How it views this development, which might deprive thousands of prisoners of the possibility to ask for and receive clemency in the next few months, in the country with the highest incarceration rate in Europe.

II. Reply by the Committee of Ministers

1.       The Committee of Ministers recalls that the Presidential Clemency Commission chaired by Mr Pristavkin was dissolved by Presidential Decree No 1500 of 28 December 2001. The same decree set up the new system for administering clemency requests in the Russian Federation by creating a regional commission on clemency in each subject of the Federation. Consequently, no vacuum of competency was created. At present, all the 89 regional commissions have been set up and are operational.

2.       The Committee has been informed that a Central Department on Clemency Issues has been created within the Presidential Administration, entrusted with the co-ordination of the regional clemency commissions’ work. A procedure to handle clemency requests was developed during 2002 and put in place.

3.       The 89 regional commissions, with some 1200 staff have, during the first eleven months of 2002, processed a total of 6628 requests for clemency. Of these, 1117 were the subject of recommendations for clemency by the commissions, leading to 182 favourable decisions by President Putin.

4.       The new system is intended to enhance efficiency through decentralisation. In 2002, the Central Clemency Department worked to ensure that all commissions become operational. It has organised a number of meetings in the Russian regions which allowed the commissions to share experiences and streamline working procedures.

5.       The Council of Europe has encouraged work in this respect and, more particularly, has supported a major all-Russia conference on clemency issues in December 2002, which permitted a broader stocktaking and debate. In this event, Council of Europe experts contributed to a constructive discussion aimed at improving the workings and effectiveness of the commissions. The Deputy Secretary General addressed the conference, highlighting the importance of the commissions in the context of reducing prison population and encouraging them to pursue and develop their indispensable work. The participants, representing the commissions, concluded that clemency should be granted on a frequent basis and that ensuring the humane treatment of prisoners should be the starting-point of their considerations.

6.       However, the maximum potential of the commissions’ work has not been fully achieved. There is clearly a scope for improvements in terms of elaborating the normative basis, adopting the appropriate procedures, developing working methods. Targeted continuous efforts by the relevant authorities and the regional commissions are considered necessary with a view to deploying adequate resources in order to improve efficiency. The Council of Europe is willing to continue its support for the efforts of the Russian authorities towards improving the effectiveness of the current clemency procedure.