NEWS FROM THE ODIHR OSCE ROUNDTABLE ON THE INSTITUTION OF OMBUDSMAN, 11-12 March 1996 Tbilisi, Georgia Rapporteur: Martin Alexanderson The ODIHR and the OSCE Mission to Georgia organised jointly a roundtable on "Legal aspects of the ombudsman institution" in Tbilisi on 11-12 March. The roundtable was a follow-up to ODIHR's recent evaluation of the draft constitutional law on the Ombudsman of Georgia. Its objective was to allow the involved Georgian parties to become acquainted with the ombudsman institutions in other countries and discuss selected legal issues before the draft law is adopted. The Georgian participants included members of the State Committee on Human Rights, the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, the Head of the Supreme Court, representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Interior Affairs and prominent Georgian scholars. The ODIHR invited four international experts to present the Ombudsman institution in their respective countries : Sweden, USA, Portugal and Russia. Keyissues raised during the roundtable concerned methods of appointment, powers and restrictions of the ombudsman's jurisdiction, his relations with other national institutions (in particular the courts) and means of establishing an efficient institution at a cost-effective level. The ombudsman law of Georgia was finally adopted on 16 May 1996, and the ombudsman is expected to be appointed soon by Parliament. GEORGIAN CORRECTIONAL OFFICER TRAINING PROGRAM April 17-26, 1996 Warsaw, Poland Rapporteur: Robert M. Buergenthal The second phase of a four part training activity for Georgian correctional officers concluded on April 26. Developed jointly by the Programme for Co-ordinated Legal Support, Warsaw University Law Professor, Dr. Monika Platek and Miroslaw Nowak of the Polish Central Prison Administration, the intensive training program sought to expose Georgian officials to realistic and attainable prison reform goals through an apprenticeship programme in Polish prisons. During the course of the activity, twelve intermediate and senior Georgian correctional officers led by the General Director of the Georgian Prison Service worked alongside their counterparts in four Polish prisons. The Georgian officials were exposed to the day to day activities of Polish prisoners in adult, youth, recidivist and a city detention centre in addition to the Polish Correctional Officers School. Midway through the activity, Georgian officials participated in a special workshop on prison reform and management. Led by Dr. Platek, Polish prison officials, professors, students and representatives from the Ministry of Justice presented a review of successful Polish prison reform activities and the philosophy behind such initiatives. The objectives of these presentations were to illustrate that dramatic improvements in Polish prison conditions were made without new facilities or extraordinary funding sources and to encourage similar improvements in Georgian correctional facilities. To further support this program, international experts Professor Nils Christie, University of Oslo Faculty of Law; Professor Roy King, Director of the Centre for Comparative Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Wales; and Andrew Barclay, H.M. Prison Service/Penal Reform International led a series of sessions on prison practices, effective prison management, criminal justice policy and alternatives to prison. 32 OSCE ODIHR Bulletin Vol. 4 No. 3