ESSEX PAPER 3: INITIAL GUIDANCE ON THE INTERPRETATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UN NELSON MANDELA RULES Chapter 5 277 Restrictions, discipline and sanctions Issues/rules covered: •  Disciplinary sanctions (Rules 36, 37, 39, 41, 42 and 43) •  Solitary confinement/isolation (Rules 38, 44, 45 and 46) •  Instruments of restraint (Rules 47, 48 and 49) Introduction At the outset, the Essex group stressed that the Rules apply comprehensively to restrictions and sanctions, regardless of the term used to describe them. The experts pointed to the structure of provisions in this section, with a number of Rules covering disciplinary sanctions (Rules 39-41) specifically, and others applying more broadly to ‘other restrictive measures’/‘restrictions’. The participants noted that these Rules apply regardless of whether the restriction is imposed as a disciplinary sanction (intended to be punitive in nature) or for other reasons, unless the text of a specific rule states otherwise. The Essex group noted that the revised SMR use the term ‘other restrictive measures’ without defining it.278 From the context of its use it can be deducted that the term: •  describes limitations in the context of contact to the outside world (visits) •  refers to measures imposed not as a disciplinary sanction, but in the context of ‘safety and security’, presumably including measures to prevent inter-prisoner violence and risks of selfharm and suicide •  is used in the context of the use of instruments of restraint. The experts noted CPT-standards which also highlight that ‘Other procedures often exist, alongside the formal disciplinary procedure’, describing measures like involuntary separation from other detainees ‘for discipline-related/security reasons (e.g. in the interests of “good order” within This chapter was authored by Andrea Huber, Penal Reform International, with the support of Sharon Critoph. 277  In Rule 36 (‘no more restriction than necessary’), Rule 43(3), Rule 46 (1, 2). Principle 19 of the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment uses the term in the context of access to the outside world (‘can only be denied subject to reasonable conditions and restrictions as specified by law’). 278  Penal Reform International and the Essex Human Rights Centre | 77