Rule 61 of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners emphasizes the importance of maintaining contact between prisoners and communities outside an institution. More specifically, the treatment of prisoners should emphasize their continuing part in it. Community agencies should assist the staff in the task of social rehabilitation of the prisoners and support them to maintain relations with their families. Steps should be taken to safeguard the rights relating to civil interests, social security rights and other interests of prisoners. Rule 79 of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners highlights the maintenance of relations between prisoners and their families. More specifically, special attention should be paid to improvement of such relations between a prisoner and his family as are desirable in the best interest of both. According to Rule 24.4 of the European Prison Rules the arrangement of visit should be such as to allow prisoners to maintain and develop family relationships in as normal a manner as possible. According to Article 46, Part III of the Imprisonment Code a convict shall serve a sentence in an institution closest to his/her place of residence or to that of a family member. Exceptions are made if the placement is impossible because of overloading of the institution, or when the placement in another institution is preconditioned by a health condition of a convict, for the protection of his or her safety or upon a consent of a convict. Monitoring missions to penitentiary institutions in the west of Georgia by the special preventive group members have found that the right of prisoners to visitations cannot be fully exercised because of various reasons. More specifically, one of the most common barriers is the presence of glass partitions and absence of conditions for the protection of confidentiality during family visits in penitentiary institutions. Also, ignorance of a place of residence while placing convicts is yet another of crucial problems. 2.7.1.  SHORT-TERM VISITS Well-being of prisoners and their reintegration after having served their sentence are largely determined by an extent to which they maintain relations with their families and friends. Direct contact and communication with families greatly contributes to rehabilitation of ex-convicts. Article 17, Part II of the Imprisonment Code determines a limited circle of those persons who are allowed to visit convicts upon a written request filed by the latter. Persons who are allowed to visit a convict for a short-time include: close relatives (child, spouse, a partner, a parent (adoptive parent), stepmother, stepfather, in-laws, stepchild, adopted children and their descendants, grandchildren, sister, brother, niece, nephew and their children, grandfather, grandmother, great grandparents (both NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM OF GEORGIA 141