Juvenile detention centres and juvenile shelters 4. Juvenile detention centres and juvenile shelters 4.1 Introduction In 2015, the representatives of the National Preventive Mechanism visited 5 juvenile detention centres and 5 juvenile shelters56. One visit was a revisit57. 4.2 Systemic problems 1) Necessity to draw up a new Act on juvenile delinquency proceedings The Act on juvenile delinquency proceedings governs the implementation of educational, corrective measures and other issues. The representatives of the NPM agree that there are many issues relating to the implementation of a corrective measure which must be included in the Act. Therefore, it was proposed to start working on a new Act on juvenile delinquency proceedings. As previously indicated, legislative works on a draft Act amending the Act on juvenile delinquency proceedings, covering, among others, the issues identified by the Commissioner for Human Rights, were initiated58”. 2) Juvenile isolation system Being of particular interest to the Commissioner for Human Rights, a juvenile isolation system for maintaining security and order in a Juvenile Detention Centre or a Juvenile Shelter should be considered as a still unresolved issue. For years, the Commissioner has noted that directors of juvenile institutions abuse a provision under which they may isolate juveniles to maintain security and order in a Juvenile Detention Centre or a Juvenile Shelter. However, they do not apply disciplinary liability provisions or provisions under which they may apply coercive measures. Therefore, the Commissioner for Human Rights applied to the Constitutional Tribunal on 22 July 2013 for declaring these provisions of the Ordinance of the Minister of Justice of 17 October 2001 on juvenile detention centres and juvenile shelters59 inconsistent with the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. The case is still pending, despite the fact that the Minister of Justice amended these provisions on 6 November 2015 (they now read as follows: “A director of a facility may place a juvenile in a transition room for a fixed term, but no longer than 14 days to ensure safety and order in the establishment”). The CHR still considers them as unconstitutional and the Public Prosecutor General admitted in his statement of 11 February 2016 (ref. No JDC in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, JS in Warsaw-Okęcie, JDC and JS in Warsaw-Falenica, JDC and JS in Głogów, JDC and JS in Laskowiec, JDC and JS in Mrozy. JDC and JS in Warsaw-Falenica. 58 Reply of the Undersecretary of State of the Ministry of Justice of 19 February 2016 (DL-III-072-34/15). 59 Dz.U. of 2014, item 1054, as amended. 56 57 31