OSCE Org
March 17 2005

Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE)

OSCE Office presents report on alternative sentencing in Armenia

/noticias.info/ YEREVAN, 16 March 2005 – A research study exploring
prospects for non-custodial measures of punishment in Armenia was
presented today to the public.

The main outcome of the research is that key actors involved in the
criminal justice reform process will get reliable guidance to help
them identify priority areas to develop efficient alternatives to
imprisonment. The Criminal and the newly-adopted Criminal-Executive
Codes create the necessary legal basis for the implementation of
penal sanctions, including alternative sentences.

The report was prepared by the non-governmental organization Advanced
Social Technologies, with support from the OSCE Office in Yerevan,
Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation and the British Embassy
in Armenia.

“All OSCE participating States face challenges in implementing
criminal justice policy which includes alternative sentencing
options,” said Stefan Buchmayer, Human Rights Officer at the OSCE
Office, opening the event.

“A comprehensive legal framework and an institutional infrastructure
for the implementation of alternative sentences facilitate making
decisions for a state and its society in choosing a criminal justice
policy.”

The scope of the research included development of the research tools,
data analysis, and an elaboration of recommendations for action. A
survey was also conducted among target groups such as judges,
prosecutors, advocates, police and Criminal Executive Department of
the Justice Ministry, as well as private entrepreneurs, offenders and
their families, and the public at large.

Anna Minasyan, Head of the Advanced Social Technologies and the
co-author of the study, said that the majority of stakeholders in the
process had a positive attitude towards alternative sentencing
options.

“They believe that an enlarged practice of alternative sanctions
corresponds to modern trends in international criminal law and
contributes to important processes, such as proper rehabilitation of
the offenders and building public trust towards the criminal justice
system.”