Meeting of the Minister of Justice and the Head of the Department

Minister of Justice Mykola Onishchuk discussed the priorities of the penitentiary system with the newly appointed Head of the State Department of Ukraine for the Execution of Sentences, Oleksandr Halinskyi. During the meeting, which took place in the presence of the First Deputy Minister of Justice Yevhen Korniychuk, the heads of the two agencies outlined a shared vision for resolving the problems of the penal system in Ukraine.

According to the Minister of Justice, the priority areas of state policy in the sphere of criminal punishment execution should include creating conditions for the correction and resocialisation of convicts, preventing torture and inhuman or degrading treatment of convicts, the gradual alignment of conditions for holding such persons with European standards, and improving the work of the penal service staff by enhancing their professional training at civilian educational institutions.

'The face of the Department must be a human one,' emphasised Minister of Justice Mykola Onishchuk, among other points.

In this regard, the Head of the Department for the Execution of Sentences stressed that the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine is setting a course for active cooperation with the public, particularly regarding timely responses to negative occurrences within the penal system. O. Halinskyi emphasised that he aims to organise the agency's work with broad reliance on public and human rights organisations, to be able to receive information about negative aspects in the system's work which might otherwise be hushed up.

The Head of the Department reported that he intends to submit for the Minister of Justice's approval a new structure for the central apparatus of the Department, which will meet modern requirements. Furthermore, he plans to create a Public Council under the Department. One of the main tasks, according to him, is the restoration of public and staff trust in the penal system.

O. Halinskyi also related that the Department will initiate legislative changes aimed at democratising the penal system and increasing the forms of suspended sentences in accordance with European standards.

During the working meeting, prospects for relocating pre-trial detention centres from densely populated areas to outside city limits were also discussed, with the simultaneous development of European-style incarceration facilities. In particular, as Mykola Onishchuk emphasised, it is necessary to pay special attention to previously initiated projects concerning the relocation of pre-trial detention centres from Lviv, Odesa, and Kyiv.

*** Oleksandr Halinskyi was appointed to the position of Head of the State Department of Ukraine for the Execution of Sentences by an order of the Cabinet of Ministers on 19 August 2009.

According to the regulations on the State Department of Ukraine for the Execution of Sentences, the Department is a central executive body whose activities are directed and coordinated by the Cabinet of Ministers through the Minister of Justice of Ukraine.

Press service of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine
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