4. RESTRICTIONS, DISCIPLINE AND SANCTIONS 01 Rule 36 makes it clear that discipline and order shall be maintained with no more restriction than is necessary to ensure safe custody of prisoners, the secure operation of the prison and a well-ordered community life. The use of overly punitive disciplinary sanctions and restrictive measures is detrimental to the smooth running of detention facilities. It negatively impacts prisoner-staff relations and has also proven ineffective in many situations, with no clear benefits for prison management. Restrictions, discipline and sanctions should not be a first response to problems but should be exceptional, and be imposed only once other measures aimed at preventing conflicts have failed.214 To this end, disciplinary proceedings must be applied in a fair, consistent and transparent manner, in accordance with applicable rules and regulations. A number of provisions in the Mandela Rules cover disciplinary sanctions (Rules 39-41), while others apply more broadly to “other restrictive measures” and “restrictions”.215 4 The term “other restrictive measures” is not defined in the Mandela Rules, but the context of the rules suggests that it “describes limitations in the context of contact with the outside world (visits), refers to measures imposed not as a disciplinary sanction, but in the context of “safety and security,” presumably including measures to prevent inter-prisoner violence and risks of self‑harm and suicide and is used in the context of the use of instruments of restraint”.216 98 National law needs to determine both the “acts and omissions by prisoners that constitute disciplinary offences”,217 and which type of disciplinary offences can be applied for such infractions. Practices that are prohibited under Rules 42 and 43 need to be explicitly prohibited by prison administrations, as do any other restrictions and disciplinary sanctions that amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (see also Rule 1). The consequences for anyone who resorts to such prohibited actions must also be clearly regulated. Furthermore, prisoners shall be allowed to defend themselves in person or through legal assistance and be assisted by a competent interpreter free of charge, in accordance with Rule 41(3). National laws and regulations should, therefore, further determine the access to legal assistance, including regulations on free legal aid and practical arrangements for interpretation when disciplinary sanctions are imposed. Provisions have been adopted in the new SMR to place limitations and prohibitions on solitary confinement, regardless of whether such measures are applied as a disciplinary sanction or for other purposes. 214. Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture, A/68/295, op. cit. note 57, para. 57. 215. Note that the rules apply regardless of whether the restriction was imposed as a disciplinary sanction or for other reasons, unless the text of the specific Rule states otherwise. 216. Essex paper 3, Penal Reform International and the University of Essex, op. cit., note 4, p. 77. 217. European Prison Rules, Council of Europe, op. cit., note 74, Rule 57(2). Guidance document on the Nelson Mandela Rules