The Supervision Unit therefore considered it appropriate to work in partnership with Parliament, through the Legislative Office of Deputy Dionisio Ortega, on two highly important initiatives. The first concerns the submission of a bill to promote the employment of individuals who have broken the law and served their sentences. The bill proposes tax incentives for companies that hire former prisoners. The other activity which was successfully undertaken over the last year was the Freedom Expo, an exhibition of handicrafts produced by the inmates of the Tacumbú, Esperanza and Buen Pastor prisons. This exhibition was launched directly by a number of inmates, thanks to the cooperation of the Criminal Enforcement Court of Asunción, presided over by Isacio Cuevas. (b)On the initiative of the Office of the Deputy Minister of Justice and Human Rights, an inter-agency commission was set up to inspect, supervise, oversee and study the preliminary list of candidates for pardons. The Prison Supervision Unit is represented on this commission. The objective of this screening process, which entails a comprehensive and thorough study of the behavioural evaluations and records of the prisoner prior to the list’s submission to the Supreme Court, is to ensure strict compliance with the conditions and requirements of the Constitution and legislation in force. Every prison in Paraguay was visited in order to confirm the details in the file of each prisoner who had served at least half of his or her sentence and to check the files for the person’s criminal record and any reports of good or bad behaviour. A team of volunteer psychologists, all professors from a private university, also interviewed each prisoner and submitted a written report to the commission on the prisoner’s psychological profile and the family support available in the event of his or her reintegration into society. It took three weeks to compile the data and reports. Once all the visits in Asunción and the rest of the country had been completed, a final evaluation was made of the profile and legal status of each prisoner and a final list was drawn up of prisoners eligible for a Presidential pardon. The final list, prepared and checked by the commission, was submitted to the Ministry of Justice and Labour, which in turn transmitted it to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for evaluation. (c)The Prison Supervision Unit is a member of the Inter-Agency Commission to Conduct Visits and Monitoring in respect of Adolescents Deprived of their Liberty. Members of the Commission carried out visits in August and September 2009 to the education centres overseen by the Adolescent Offenders Welfare Service and to the sections for juveniles in regional prisons in order to observe and inspect the situation in those centres and the living conditions of young persons deprived of their liberty nationwide. The Commission had produced a report based on those visits which contains information on the following issues: rights and due process (police procedures, access to justice, contacts with judges, defence counsel and prosecutors), material concerns (food, lighting and ventilation, personal hygiene, sanitation, clothing and bedding, overcrowding and the general standard of accommodation), treatment (torture and ill-treatment at the time of arrest, torture and ill-treatment during detention, use of solitary confinement, control and security measures, use of force), medical services (access to medical care, health care for inmates suffering from mental disorders, treatment of communicable diseases, medical staff), education, training and recreational services (formal education programmes within the centre, vocational and occupational training and/or apprenticeship programmes), activities and links with the outside world (education programmes or work placements, outdoor exercise and recreational activities, religion, creative activities within the community). Paragraph 313 (b) 123.When considering this point, in the light of the guidelines adopted by the Supreme Court to provide guarantees of due process, the following should be borne in mind: firstly, specific provisions exist in the relevant legislation on the matters referred to in the report, and the correct application of such directives is the sole responsibility of the Court; secondly, the Supreme Court, sitting in plenary, lays down guidelines and establishes rules through the issuance of Agreements, such as the following: (a)Agreement No. 154 of 21 February 2000 established a system for dealing with urgent cases under which a criminal court judge is on call at all times in order to ensure that constitutional rights and the procedural rules adopted to protect the accused are upheld. (b)Under Agreement No. 222 of 5 July 2001, the Supreme Court approved procedural guidelines for the criminal justice enforcement system concerning oversight of the rights and safeguards established with respect to the prison system by the Constitution, international law and ordinary law for the benefit of those convicted or accused of committing an offence. Those guidelines provide that the right to human dignity and the principles of equal treatment and procedural expeditiousness must be borne in mind at all times. 124.With regard to the constitutional right of habeas corpus, the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court currently finds itself in an unusual political position, since it is missing one member, as Dr. Wildo Rienzi has not been replaced. The decision to replace him must be taken by other branches of government. This situation could slow down the processing of habeas corpus applications, although the Criminal Chamber is doing its utmost to avoid this. So far this year, the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court has received 71 habeas corpus petitions, and it has ruled on them as speedily as possible. 125.With regard to the directives of the Supreme Court on that matter, it should be noted that the Court regularly carries out training workshops for judges and magistrates in order to standardize the criteria used for the proper application of procedural rules to protect the accused. 126.The Supreme Court has issued Decision No. 298/05, article 2 of which states that all court and administrative officials must attend courses for which they are convoked. 127.In addition to activities aimed at improving the level of training, articles 28 to 34 of chapter IV of Paraguay’s Code of Judicial Ethics cover knowledge and training.