form of arrest, detention or imprisonment. This implies the obligation of the state to elaborate a human rights oriented curriculum. Under Rule 75 of the Nelson Mandela Rules, ‘All prison staff shall possess an adequate standard of education and shall be given the ability and means to carry out their duties in a professional manner. 2. Before entering on duty, all prison staff shall be provided with training tailored to their general and specific duties, which shall be reflective of contemporary evidence-based best practice in penal sciences. Only those candidates who successfully pass the theoretical and practical tests at the end of such training shall be allowed to enter the prison service. 3. The prison administration shall ensure the continuous provision of in service training courses with a view to maintaining and improving the knowledge and professional capacity of its personnel, after entering on duty and during their career.’ Under Rule 76.1, ‘training … shall include, at a minimum, (a) relevant national legislation, regulations and policies, as well as applicable international and regional instruments, the provisions of which must guide the work and interactions of prison staff with inmates; (b) rights and duties of prison staff in the exercise of their functions, including respecting the human dignity of all prisoners and the prohibition of certain conduct, in particular torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; (c) security and safety, including the concept of dynamic security, the use of force and instruments of restraint, and the management of violent offenders, with due consideration of preventive and defusing techniques, such as negotiation and mediation; (d) first aid, the psychosocial needs of prisoners and the corresponding dynamics in prison settings, as well as social care and assistance, including early detection of mental health issues.’ According to the information received from the Ministry of Corrections, in 2016, 1,205 members of legal regime unit, 236 staff members of the security unit, 15 staff members of fast response unit and 76 staff members of the special registration unit have undergone a certified course.102 The Public Defender welcomes the completion of the certified course of mandatory retraining for the personnel in legal regime, security, fast response and special registration units. The Office of the Public Defender requested the information from the Ministry of Corrections, on 20 January 2017 by letter no. 03-4/910, regarding ongoing educational programmes and training sessions. The copies of detailed syllabi were requested through the aforementioned letter. As the result of the examination of the course descriptions sent by letter MOC 617 00143412 of the Ministry of Corrections on 23 February 2017 and its annexes, the methodology of curricula is of general nature and needs further improvement. The course syllabus does not give information about the teaching format to be used during each session and what particular topics are going to be covered within each session. There are references only to international and national legislation without further details on specific topics under each session. 102 Letter no. MOC 617 00143412 of the Ministry of Corrections of Georgia, dated 23 February 2107 (registered under no. 03-4/910 at the Office of the Public Defender of Georgia). 62 HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN CLOSED INSTITUTIONS