islation for the accused/convicts. Therefore, the existence of such a practice is impermissible as it constitutes a breach of law and unjustifiable restriction of the rights of prisoners. Besides, grounds for placement in a de-escalation/safe room, procedure and legal guarantees are not provided by law and are instead regulated by a subsidiary normative act issued by the Minister. Since placement in such rooms is a restrictive measure by its nature, it should be governed by law. Since placement of prisoners in the mentioned rooms amounts to a forcible measure applied to the prisoner in order to secure order and safety at the establishment and carries a great risk of ill-treatment of prisoners, it is essential to store the video recordings from these cells for a reasonable time (not less than 1 month). The Public Defender believes that prisoners should be placed in de-escalation/safe rooms only in accordance with law and with adequate legal guarantees, so as to avoid human rights violations. This will be possible only if the legislation is amended to specify who makes decisions about placement of the prisoner in de-escalation/safe rooms, standard of substantiation for applying this measure and maximum reasonable time for its use. PROPOSAL TO THE PARLIAMENT OF GEORGIA • Regulate grounds, procedure and maximum reasonable time (24 hours) for placing prisoners in de-escalation/safe rooms by law; specify the person that makes decisions about applying this measure, standard for substantiation for such decisions and legal guarantees for prisoners when using this measure. RECOMMENDATIONS RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE MINISTRY OF CORRECTIONS: • Define maximum reasonable time for placement in a de-escalation/safe room (which should not exceed 24 hours) by a subsidiary normative act; also specify the person that makes decisions about using this measure and standard of substantiation for such decisions. • Secure observance of requirements of legislation when placing persons in a de-escalation/safe room through supervision and control. • Secure storage of video recordings from de-escalation/safe rooms for a minimum period of 1 month. NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM (NPM), 2015 41