shared use should be added to this list. In its reports on visits to various countries the
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) has been emphasizing that
the privacy of detained persons should be preserved when they are using a toilet and
washing themselves.62
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) has been emphasizing
that the decision to establish a visual and/or electronic surveillance and control must
be reasoned failing which such decision may be considered to be in violation of the
prisoner’s right to privacy. According to Article 4 of the draft ministerial order, a
director of the institution decides to apply the measure by issuing a relevant order.
Although Article 3 of the draft order says the director’s decision must be reasoned
and proportional to the purpose, we believe it is necessary to expand the content
of Article 4 to specify that, in each case a visual and/or electronic surveillance and
control is authorized, the director’s decision must refer to the facts and circumstances
that warranted application of the measure. The director’s decision should also provide
arguments as to why other means would not be effective in the given case. In each
individual case, risks should be evaluated in detail and the director’s decision (order)
must clearly prove that visual and/or electronic surveillance and control are the only
means with no alternative. This is important against the background that current
decisions authorizing electronic surveillance contain scarce information and rather
stencil phrases.
According to the draft ministerial order, after a decision to establish visual and/or
electronic control is made, the administration must warn the remand/sentenced
prisoner about it, except in the events prescribed by law. This will be documented
in the relevant minutes to be signed by the prisoner. We think it would be more
appropriate if the prisoner not only signs the minutes but also receives a copy thereof.
This formulation could be inserted as an additional paragraph in Article 5 of the
ministerial order.
Article 8 of the draft order basically repeats the relevant provision from the
Imprisonment Code stating that the institution’s administration may visually observe a
meeting of individuals referred to in Article 54(6) of the Code using remote surveillance
and make a recording by technical means, but without hearing the conversation. We
believe the above-mentioned provisions of both the Imprisonment Code and the draft
ministerial order must prescribe an exception to this rule whenever prisoners are
meeting with the Public Defender/Special Preventive Group because these provisions
expressly contradict Article 19(3) of the Organic Law on Public Defender, which
provides: “Meetings of the Public Defender/Special Preventive Group members with
persons who are detained, remanded or whose liberty is otherwise restricted and
with convicted prisoners as well as with persons in psychiatric institutions, shelters
for senior citizens and children’s homes shall be confidential. No eavesdropping or
62
http://www.cpt.coe.int/documents/hun/2010-16-inf-eng.pdf see p. 19, par. 31; see also
http://www.cpt.coe.int/documents/ita/2013-32-inf-eng.pdf p. 30, par. 60 [last viewed
22.03.2015]
NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM OF GEORGIA
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