[Documents/Docheader.htm]Situation of European prisons and pre-trial detention centres
Recommendation 1656 (2004)Doc. 10210
16 June 2004
Reply from the Committee of Ministers
adopted at the 887th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (9 June 2004)
1. The Committee of Ministers examined with great attention Recommendation 1656 (2004) on the situation of European prisons and pre-trial detention centres, at the 884th and 887th meetings of the Ministers’ Deputies (19 May and 9 June 2004) and fully shared the concern of the Parliamentary Assembly about the need to protect efficiently the rights and dignity of persons deprived of their liberty. This concern was clearly reflected in the adoption of the European Prison Rules, last updated in 1987. In this context, the Committee of Ministers recalls that, following a proposal submitted by the European Committee on Crime Problems (CDPC), it has already agreed to give ad hoc terms of reference to the Council for Penological Co-operation (PC-CP), at the 808th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (18 September 2002, item 10.3), to update the current version of the European Prison rules as contained in Recommendation No. R (87) 3.
2. The Committee of Ministers is also aware of the fact that on 9 March 2004 the European Parliament addressed Recommendation 2003/2188 to the Council of the European Union on the rights of prisoners in the European Union. In this text, the European Parliament recommends that the Council of the European Union should (i) encourage the Council of Europe to revise its European Prison Rules, (ii) encourage the drafting of a European Prisons Charter covering all member states of the Council of Europe, which would include specific rules on a list of topics and (iii) declare that, should this exercise not be completed in the near future, or should the outcome prove unsatisfactory, the European Union would draw up a Charter of the rights of persons deprived of their liberty which would be binding on the member states of the European Union and which could be invoked before the Court of Justice.
3. Turning back to Recommendation 1656 (2004) of the Parliamentary Assembly, the Committee of Ministers observes that the proposals made therein are very much in line with those formulated by the European Parliament. In particular, the Parliamentary Assembly recommended to the Committee of Ministers to draw up, in conjunction with the European Union, a European Prisons Charter, which would (i) include specific rules on a list of topics (ii) draw on a set of guidelines prepared by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly and (iii) be submitted to the Parliamentary Assembly for an opinion.
4. A careful examination of the ad hoc terms of reference given by the Deputies to the Council for Penological Co-operation for the updating of Recommendation No. R (87) 3 on the European Prison Rules leads to the conclusion that they already cover most, if not all, of the topics which should be dealt with by the European Prisons Charter, according to Recommendation 1656 (2004) of the Parliamentary Assembly and Recommendation 2003/2188 of the European Parliament.
5. Therefore the Committee of Ministers agreed, at the 884th meeting of the Minister’s Deputies (19 May 2004, item 3.1) to transmit Recommendation 1656 (2004) of the Parliamentary Assembly to the CDPC and the PC-CP to pursue, as scheduled, the work of updating the European prison rules, drawing their members’ attention to the proposals made now by the Parliamentary Assembly and, in particular, to the proposal to prepare a European Prisons Charter. In addition, it agreed to add Recommendation 1656 (2004) to the list of reference documents reproduced under item 5 of the ad hoc terms of reference given to the PC-CP, which remain unchanged. At the same time, the Committee of Ministers encouraged the European Union to become actively involved in the work under way in the Council of Europe to update the European Prison Rules, as a means of reaching common standards in this area. It is the Committee of Minister’s view that an integrated approach to the issue of prisoner’s right and dignity is the most appropriate, sound and effective way of dealing with this issue as it would avoid duplication, double standards and waste of scarce resources. It would also meet the wishes clearly expressed by both the Parliamentary Assembly and the European Parliament in their respective recommendations.
6. Moreover, the Committee of Ministers considered that the forthcoming 26th Conference of European Ministers of Justice, scheduled to take place in Helsinki in April 2005, provided a most timely and appropriate opportunity to take stock of the progress achieved, discuss possible solutions to outstanding difficulties and provide political impetus to the conclusion of this important work. Therefore, the Committee of Ministers invited the CDPC to submit a progress report to the 26th Conference of European Ministers of Justice and invited member States to report on this occasion on the signature and ratification of the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
7. The Committee of Ministers stresses that this is a highly topical and important activity and it welcomes the important contribution made by the Parliamentary Assembly through the adoption of its Recommendation 1656 (2004). In the light of the aforesaid, the Committee of Ministers agrees to maintain the Parliamentary Assembly closely associated to activities in the area of prisoner’s rights and dignity and agrees to keep it informed of future significant developments connected with the implementation of Recommendation referred to above.