Prisons in Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

Following the historic political changes in central and eastern Europe in the period 1989-91, the countries of the region made reform of the criminal justice system a priority requirement in the progress towards democratic institutions. The reform of the prison system is an important part of criminal justice reform and this is the second HEUNI study which focuses on developments in the prison systems and describes the progress made, and the problems faced, in implementing the international standards for the management of prisons and the treatment of prisoners. It considers the situation in the year 2001, seven years after that described in the previous study.