Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules). It contains guidelines for individual aspects of the planning and technical operation of penitentiary establishments, which aspects are important also for humane treatment of prisoners. According to the United Nations rules on the treatment of prisoners (the so-called Nelson Mandela Rules), the regime in penitentiary institutions should aim to minimize those differences between life in prison and life outside it, which reduce the prisoner’s sense of responsibility or respect owed to them as human beings. Penitentiary facilities should therefore have infrastructure that promotes a safe environment supporting the rehabilitation process. This includes the provision of access to work, education, family visits, and other activities and programmes aimed at accelerating the process. The UNOPS also emphasizes that prisons should be perceived as a part of the broader system of justice, applicable to criminal cases. The understanding of this aspect will contribute to designing prisons in a manner that ensures their operational effectiveness. In the opinion of the Commissioner, the UNOPS publication is of great educational value and the standards contained therein should be taken into account in the process of planning, building and modernizing penitentiary establishments. According to the recommendations of the international institutions that monitor places where people are deprived of their liberty, addressed to the Polish government, further efforts are needed to improve physical conditions in penitentiary establishments so that they conform to the international standards of treatment of prisoners. The Commissioner requested the Minister of Justice to disseminate the information about the document among the Prison Service officers and the society, and to report the actions taken. The minister pointed out35 that in order to ensure humane conditions in prisons, the Prison Service received the guidelines of the Director General of the Prison Service of 7 June 2019 on technical and protection standards for accommodation buildings operated by organizational units of the Prison Service. They set out the principles of technical planning of penitentiary establishments in a manner that takes into account the required number of cells, their location, size, standard and necessary equipment. When designing new penitentiary establishments, the Prison Service is required to comply with the living conditions standards aimed at ensuring that the basic human needs are met. The standards are also followed in the already operating facilities. The Ministry of Justice and the Prison Service consider the improvement and modernization of prison facilities as a task that should be carried out on a continuous basis, depending on the financial resources available. In order to increase the knowledge and awareness, the Polish translation of the document of the United Nations Office for Project Services, drawn up in 2016, will be posted on the intranet site of the Quartermaster and Procurement Office of the Prison Service Headquarters, in the chapter devoted to the living conditions of prisoners. 35 Letter of 13 August 2020. 29