8 Justice to enable all convicts, except those in solitary confinement or isolation, to spend free time during the day in communal rooms with other convicts”. Activities of corrections officers with convicts remain sporadic. A certain number of convicts were involved in the refurbishment of prison facilities, which resulted in significant improvements in the conditions of their placement. However, many convicts still do not have a possibility to do productive work. It is necessary to increase the volume of culture-related activities. The procedure of classification of convicts is still not transparent enough. The criteria for advancement are insufficiently explained to convicts, while corrections officers mainly administrate questionnaires. Lack of flexibility of the advancement criteria in correctional work makes progress of convicts to more favourable correctional groups more difficult, so many convicts are still released from prisons from the same correctional groups where they were classified immediately upon admission to prisons. In Conclusions 72. of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia of 23 October 2014 states: “With regard to the assessment of the Protector of Citizens that there are significant shortcomings in active, individual and collective correctional work of corrections officers with convicts, the National Assembly orders the Ministry of Justice to improve treatment of convicts in penal facilities in terms of more intensive an effective work of corrections officers with convicts, increasing their work engagement where possible, education and the highest level of exercise of religious rights and to pass new or modify the existing regulations without delay, which would ensure implementation of the law in accordance with the applicable standards in that regard.” In Conclusions 73. of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia of 23 October 2014 states the following: “Due to significant shortcomings, pointed out by the Protector of Citizens in his Report, regarding active individual and collective correctional work of corrections officers with convicts, work engagement of convicts and their education, use of a system of subsequent reclassification of convicts which enables convicts to progress into a more favourable correctional group in case of good behaviour, preparation of convicts for release and establishing of cooperation with social welfare organisations, the National Assembly orders the Administration for the Enforcement of Penal Sanctions of the Ministry of Justice to improve treatment of convicts in order to rectify the said shortcomings and emphasizes the duty to pass regulations for implementation of the law in accordance with the applicable standards without delay.” The prison facilities intended for underage persons and women5 are central institutions (and the only such institutions) and 200 persons can be placed in each of them. These institutions, particularly those intended for underage persons, have strong informal systems, which makes appropriate correctional work impossible. Another problem in these central institutions is that incarcerated persons are far away from their homes, which makes their contacts with their families considerably difficult. Shortcomings in health care in prisons are numerous. First of all, health care is not provided on a continual basis, which can be seen from the fact that convicts’ medical records are not forwarded to institutions where convicts were admitted n or are medical records transferred to institutions where convicts are transferred. First medical examinations are superficial, incarcerated persons are not examined without their clothes and there are no protocols specifying the content of medical examinations. The duty to perform periodic medical examinations set by the regulations was not implemented in practice, but this duty has been cancelled by the new Law on Enforcement of Penal Sanctions. There are still cases of non-medical staff being present during medical examinations. Lack of medicines is observable, which results 5 The Penal and Correctional Institution for Women in Požarevac, the Juvenile Penal and Correctional in Valjevo and the Penal and Correctional Facility in Kruševac.

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