conduct may indicate inhuman or degrading treatment, that is, a violation of Article 3 of the
European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as
expressed in the ECHR judgment in the case Poghosyan v. Georgia (2009), which states that,
to protect a prisoner’s health, it was not enough to have him examined and a diagnosis made,
but it was essential to provide treatment corresponding to the diagnosis.
However, it is expected that in 2014 there will be no further unequal treatment in terms of
whether or not prisoners have the status of a mandatory health insurance policy holder with
HZZO, because, under the new Mandatory Health Insurance Act, (OG 80/13), all prisoners
will acquire the status of a policy holder with HZZO and exercise the rights under mandatory
health insurance. Furthermore, according to the Central Office's reply, the question of
supplemental health insurance, which is voluntary and personal, will be resolved with HZZO
according to the criteria prescribed by the Rules for the establishment and implementation of
supplementary health insurance (OG 91/13), which means that some prisoners will, along
with the right to primary health insurance, also have the right to supplemental health
insurance, while other prisoners will have an option to, if they want, pay for a supplemental
health insurance policy. This will also harmonize the treatment of all prisoners with regard to
the payment of participation. More precisely, prisoners without a mandatory health insurance
policy with HZZO have previously not participated in the cost of health care (covered by the
Ministry of Justice), while other prisoners, if without a contracted supplemental health
insurance policy, participated in the cost, which often generated great dissatisfaction.
3.3. Treatment of persons deprived of their liberty
The fact that during the visits in 2013 no treatment was identified that would indicate the most
severe form of violation of human rights – torture – is certainly a positive one. However, the
state in which the rule of law is one of the highest constitutional values should not be satisfied
only with absence of the most severe form of violation of the rights of persons deprived of
their liberty, but should constantly strive to respect the rights of each person in all its actions.
One of the key shortcomings observed this year is certainly the unequal treatment of persons
deprived of their liberty. Although the unequal treatment may not necessarily constitute a
violation of their rights, it is definitely harmful, unless it is based on clear and predefined
criteria, which are equally applied to all persons in comparable situations. Even though the
reasons for unequal treatment are multiple, they primarily arise from shortcomings in the legal
framework, restrictive interpretation or inconsistent application of regulations, and the
accommodation conditions.
Despite the fact that national legislation governing the treatment of persons deprived of their
liberty and conditions in which they are held was generally assessed as good, there is also
room for improvement. For example, the fact that the currently valid EPSA was, since its
adoption in 1999, corrected, amended or supplemented as much as fourteen times, and that the
last consolidated version was published more than ten years ago should by itself represent a
justified cause to initiate the drafting of a new text. The reasons for drafting the new EPSA
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