visit in a month cannot ensure maintaining solid ties between convicts and their family members. Therefore, it is imperative to amend the Imprisonment Code for allowing more short visits for prisoners serving sentence in closed type and high risk prison facilities. The Public Defender recommended concerning this issue to the Minister of Corrections in the Parliamentary Report of 2015. However, this recommendation has not been fulfilled by the time of submission of this Report. Under Article 17.7 of the Imprisonment Code of Georgia, a short visit is held for one to two hours. A short visit shall take place only under the visual control of a representative of the Administration, except as provided for by the legislation of Georgia. It is noteworthy that in the majority of penitentiary establishments, short visits are held in rooms with window partitions. This does not allow a prisoner to have any physical contact with family members. However, in exceptional cases, such as serious health condition of a convict, meeting with a child under seven, etc., a short visit allowing immediate contact may be arranged with the consent of the director of an establishment. Despite the fact that in some cases it is necessary to have physical partitions in place, it is important to ensure that the immediate physical contact should be the rule. Any decision allowing restriction of physical contact should be reasonable, justified and proportionate with the attainment of the aim sought by the restriction. Besides, the decision on restricting physical contact should be subject to regular revision. Otherwise, interference in the right to respect for private and family life of prisoners will be unjustified. The Public Defender has been making recommendations to the Minister of Corrections regarding this issue for years. Unfortunately, this recommendation has not been fulfilled to date. The penitentiary establishments do not allow short visits on weekends. Within the monitoring conducted in establishment no. 15, the Special Preventive Group members talked with parents and spouses of the convicts waiting at the public reception room of this establishment. According to them, it is important to allow short visits in the days off, as they often have to take leave during the working days, which causes them problems with their employers.229 As of 1 January 2016, an remand person may enjoy not more than 4 short visits a month.230 This is clearly a positive change and is positively reflected on maintaining family ties as well as stress reduction. This right may be restricted based on a resolution of the investigator or prosecutor. For the purposes of investigation and safety, an employee of the facility who carries out a visual surveillance of a short visit of an remand person may immediately terminate the visit. 3.7.2. LONG VISITS Convicts’ right to use long visits contributes to their right to respect for private and family life by maintaining close ties with their family and contributes to reintegration process with the family and society after release. 229 In 2016, in total 38,897 short visits were made to penitentiary establishments; In 2015 – 40,897 short visits. In 2016, compared to 2015, along with the decrease in the total number of prisoners, the indicator for the use of short visits decreased too. 230 Imprisonment Code, Article 77. NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM (NPM), 2016 109