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JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
Nations, 1990b
), etc. In these documents, the defining idea is
respect for human rights and freedoms in the execution of
criminal sentences. For example, the Code of Principles for the
Protection of All Persons Subject to Detention or Imprisonment
in any way states that all persons who are subject to detention or
imprisonment in any way have the right to humane treatment and
respect for human dignity (Principle 1); in the interests of
persons who are subject to detention or imprisonment in any
way, any human rights recognized by the State in accordance
with the law, conventions, rules, and customs shall not be
restricted or diminished on the ground that those rights are not
recognized or are recognized in a reduced amount in the
specified Code of Principles (Principle 3); no person subjected to
detention or imprisonment shall be subjected to torture or other
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Principle 6).
The Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners in
the General Rules section state that the minimum conditions
considered by the United Nations are designed to protect
prisoners from ill-treatment (Clifford et al., 1972). The Basic
Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners state: All prisoners are
respected because they have dignity and significance as human
beings (Principle 1); with the exception of those restrictions
which necessitate excessive imprisonment, all prisoners enjoy
the human rights and fundamental freedoms set forth in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. rights and
the Optional Protocol thereto, as well as other rights, set out in
other United Nations Covenants (Principle 5) (United Nations,
1990b).
The Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment states: any act that constitutes torture or other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, is an insult to
human dignity and should be recognized as a violation of human
rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed by the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (Article 2); the training of law
enforcement personnel and the training of other officials who
may be responsible for persons deprived of their liberty should
ensure that the situation is fully respected and that the
prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment is fully respected, treatment and punishment (Article
5) (United Nations, 1975).
The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment prohibits torture, according
to which there are no exceptional circumstances, state of war or
threat of war, internal political instability or any another state of
emergency, an order from a superior or state authority cannot be
an excuse for torture (Article 2) (
Burgers, 1988
). The Code of
Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials contains the following
provision: in the performance of their duties, the relevant
officials respect and protect human dignity and protect the
human rights of all persons (Article 2) (
Mueller, 1978)
. The
European Penitentiary Rules state that the treatment of all
persons deprived of their liberty must respect their human rights
(Part I, Principle 1) (
Council of Europe, 2006
).
The main international regulations governing the activities of the
penitentiary system and the treatment of convicts are the
European Penitentiary Rules and the Minimum Standard Rules
for the Treatment of Prisoners. They are recognized as a source
document for the formation of policy in the field of execution of
punishments by the legislature, courts, and prison
administrations and have acquired a special status among
international criminal procedure instruments (Yakovets, 2013).
Domestic scholars in the field of criminal-executive law
A. H. Stepaniuk (2007) and I. S. Yakovets (2013) emphasize
that the consolidation of these provisions in SMEs has a
significant impact on national law, as well as the theory and
practice of execution of sentences, and point out that the
Universal Declaration human rights, IST and national legislation
are correlated as general, special and separate (individual)
(Stepaniuk, 2007).
V. A. Lyovochkin (2002) rightly emphasized that international
legal documents on the rights and freedoms of convicts affect the
formation of criminal-executive legislation of Ukraine.
O. B. Ptashynskyi (2002) also supports this point of view and
other scholars who believe that standards of treatment of
convicts developed by the international community are the result
of their cooperation; in the future, they will best ensure human
rights and freedoms in the field of execution and serving of
criminal sentences (Ptashynskyi, 2002). According to
A. H. Stepaniuk and I. S. Yakovets, the consolidation of these
provisions on respect for human rights and freedoms is
important for law enforcement activities, as they become binding
and such objective and subjective characteristics as normative,
stability, indisputability, and inadmissibility of deviation from
them, even as an exception (Stepaniuk, 2007). The authors
rightly believe that in the activities of penitentiary bodies and
institutions it is necessary to create such conditions under which
the principles of criminal-executive legislation should not be just
a declaration, a formal opportunity.
5 Conclusion
International standards on human rights and treatment of
convicts indicate the universal human rights and freedoms of
convicts, which should be respected by the penitentiary
administration during the execution of sentences, namely: the
right to life and health; freedom and personal integrity; no one
shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment; all persons deprived of their liberty
have the right to humane treatment and respect for the inherent
dignity of the human person, as well as to appropriate conditions
of detention. This means that while serving a sentence, the state
must create such conditions of detention for convicts that would
ensure humanity, human dignity, and honor, respect for rights
and freedoms, which will bring the criminal law of Ukraine
closer to the generally accepted standards of most European
countries.
The analyzed international acts indicate that not all provisions
regarding respect for human rights and freedoms during the
execution of sentences, enshrined in the current legislation of
Ukraine, comply with IST. Some of them, although formally
meeting such standards, in the practice of national institutions in
the field of execution of sentences is only declarative, as not all
of them can be implemented and implemented due to the
existence of legal, economic, social factors, as well as prejudice
against convicts by the administration of the penitentiary.
Creating appropriate conditions in the penitentiary, quality, and
adequate nutrition, the provision of qualified and timely medical
care and treatment is very important during the serving of
sentences and requires adequate funding from the state, which,
unfortunately, is insufficient. But no less important is the polite
attitude of the penitentiary administration towards the convicts.
In this case, the humane treatment of convicts does not require
financial investment from the state but depends solely on the
administration of the penitentiary. Therefore, in carrying out its
activities, it must be aware that the convicted person is a person,
and treat him as a person. This is the manifestation of humanism
because although such a person made a mistake, not only the
family but also society and the state are waiting for his return as
a law-abiding citizen.
The full implementation of the principles makes the process of
execution and serving a sentence fair, consistent with the legal
awareness and morals of the citizens of our society. This is a
very important provision, because excessive cruelty, as well as
excessive leniency in the execution of a criminal sentence, is an
injustice in the presence of which the achievement of the goals
of the execution of the sentence becomes problematic.
We believe that adherence to the principles of criminal
enforcement legislation, formed in international human rights
standards, contributes to the success of all work on the
correction of convicts and the functioning of the penitentiary
system in Ukraine as an important component of civil society.
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