Romanian Prison System and Azerbaijani Prison System

Sistemul Penitenciar Romnesc vs Sistemul Penitenciar Azer

Cecilia POPA
Master of Probation, University of Bucharest
Romania
Abstract: Speaking in regard to one penal system is complicated enough. However,
discussing two systems simultaneously and providing a comprehensive analysis is
even more complex. Comparing two systems can allow us to learn what works and
what does not and also, what we could learn from these two systems weaknesses
and strengths. This analysis is conducted based on the Criminal Code, the law
regarding the execution of sentences, and the regulations for internal discipline in
prisons from both countries. This paper aims to conclude the strengths and
weaknesses of these laws, but also the alternatives to prison system.
Key words: penal justice, criminal code, sentence
Abstract: Cnd vorbim despre un sistem penal este deja complicat, ns atunci cnd
avem n vedere dou astfel de sisteme i le analizm n paralel avem de-a face cu o
situaie complex. Totui, putem s nvm ceva dac observm ce funcioneaz n
aceste sisteme i ce nu funcioneaz i deopotriv, s nvm din punctele lor slabe
ct i din cele forte. Bazndu-ne pe Codul Penal, Legea de Executare a Pedepselor i
Regulamentul de Ordine Intern a penitenciarelor din ambele ri, vom concluziona
care sunt punctele slabe, punctele forte i deasemenea, alternativele din aceste
sisteme penitenciare.
Cuvinte cheie: justiie penal, cod penal, pedeaps

23

Introduction
During the post I have taken in Azerbaijan I successfully read, reviewed,
analyzed, and held meetings with experts in the area of criminal justice to summarize
the functions of their prison system in comparison to the prison system in Romania.
This analysis conclusions provide suggestions on the course of actions that needs to
be taken for improving each of the two cases discussed here.
The purpose of this paper is not just to summarize and compare these two
criminal justice systems, but also to highlight what it can be done in this regard
within strategic and long-term projects. PROBATION junior is a journal that
encourages constructive discussions, academically and non-academically, and it is
my hope that this article can provide the base for such discussions, but equally that it
can constitute a group of ideas for future studies.
To begin with, I invite you to review the larger picture regarding these two
prison systems:
Romanian Prison System

Azerbaijani Prison System

- 32 prisons for male adults;

17 prisons from which:

- one prison for women;

- one prison of rehabilitation;

- six prison hospitals;

- one prison for juveniles;

- two prisons for juveniles and youngsters;

- one prison for women;

- three reeducation centers (14 / 16-18 years).

Two more prisons for male adults prisons are
about to become facilities for juveniles (14 / 1618 years) and young offenders (18-21 years).
- approximately 27,000 offenders in the prison - approximately 15,000 offenders in prison
system and approximately 42,000 offenders in system / out of nearly eight million population;
the probation system (community supervision)
out of nearly 19 million population;
Prison regimes:

Prison classification:

- Maximum security (> 15 years of sentence);

- Ordinary Penitentiary Institutions - for persons

- Closed Regime (5 - 15 years);

sentenced for the first time for a term confinement for

24

- Semi-Open Regime (1-5 years);

premeditated offences of little social impact, low severity

- Open Regime (< 1 year);

as well as grave crimes, and persons sentenced for a

According to the new Criminal Code, still not

imprisonment for a term of over five years for despairdriven crimes as well as persons whose sentences have

adopted, but which has begun to be implemented been substituted with a term confinement. [];
in specific cases through a series of laws, the - Medium Security Institutions - for persons
prisons in Romania will be redesigned in regard sentenced for the first time to a term confinement for
to regimes. At the moment one prison can include especially grave crimes; as well as persons sentenced for
more than one regime, but this situation will recidivism of crimes, and who has previously been
change. Each prison will become regime specific.

sentenced to a term confinement; and women sentenced to

a term confinement for especially dangerous recidivism of
crimes. [];

- Maximum Security Institutions - for male convicts

sentenced to a term confinement for especially dangerous
recidivism of crimes and convicts whose sentence of life
imprisonment has been substituted with the sentence of
term confinement. [];

Community

(Settlement)

Penitentiary

Institutions - for persons sentenced for a term not

exceeding five years for despair-driven crimes. [] (a.n.
the sentences are carried inside of prison);

- Prisons - for persons sentenced to imprisonment for a

term of over five years for especially grave crimes; persons
sentenced for especially dangerous recidivism of crimes
with service of the full term or a part thereof; persons
sentenced to life imprisonment; as well as convicts
transferred to prisons from ordinary, medium, and
maximum security institutions. [];

- Penitentiary Institutions for Convicts Under

Age25.
Annually 11,000 offenders are released from Annually between 3,000 and 5,000 offenders are
prisons.

released from prisons.

25

Code of the Azerbaijan Republic for Carriage of Sentences, (approved by the Law of July 14, 2000
and effective as of September 1st, 2000. Amended and revised as of March 1st, 2004).

25

Romania has the life sentence, which can be Azerbaijan has the life sentence, which can be
reduced to an easier sentence in the light of good reduced to an easier sentence in the light of good
behavior of an offender. The Law 83 / 2010, behavior of an offender.
which modifies and completes the Law 275 /
2006 regarding the execution of sentences in
Romania, was implemented recently.
Criminal liability 14 years old;

Criminal liability 14 years old;

Between 14 16 years any defendant needs to Between 14 16 years any defendant needs to
prove discernment.

prove discernment.

Starting with 2000, Romania has a Probation Azerbaijan has adopted in 2007 a law that
System, which is the alternative system to regulates European conditions for sentences and
detention, meaning that those offenders who the carriage of sentences. Also, the Criminal
receive a suspended sentence under supervision Code supports alternatives methods to detention.
(for

adults)

and

supervised

freedom

(for However, so far the sentences have been carried

juveniles) are the beneficiaries of the Probation out in prisons.

System.
The conditions for Probation regarding the
suspended sentence under supervision:
a) the given sentence is no more than four
years in prison;
b) the offender was not convicted before to a
sentence more than one year long;
c) based on the evaluation report made by a
probation officer at the judges request26.
The National Administration of Penitentiaries Under the Minister of Justice there are two
(NAP) is a public institution of national interest, Deputy Ministers and one of them is also the
with legal personality, subordinated to the Director of the Penitentiary Service. The
Ministry of Justice.27

Penitentiary

26

Service

Institution

within

Criminal Code of Romania, June 28, 2004, published in the Official Monitor of Romania, Part I no.
575, June 29, 2004 (the original code dates since 1968).
27
http://e-juridic.manager.ro/articole/totul-despre-administratia-nationala-a-penitenciarelor%28anp%29-3456.html, accessed on May 19, 2011.

26

the

All Romanian prisons are subordinated to the structure of the Ministry of Justice carries out the
Penitentiary Facilities and other Units.28

NAP.

Besides NAP, there is the Probation Direction In order to ensure transparency and public supervision
under the Ministry of Justice.

over the penitentiary, a Public Committee composed of the

renowned human rights defendants and NGO members was
established. It has been already for four years that the
Committee realized effective activity constantly visiting all
penitentiary facilities.

29

The Public Committee appears as a regulatory

body regarding public participation in order to
rehabilitate offenders, but also to oversee prisons
activities.
The coordination of activities of the Public Committee on
supervision over penitentiaries and correction of prisoners
is also carried out solely by the Department of Human
Rights and Public Relations.

The

offenders

rehabilitation

is

conducted The

offenders

30

rehabilitation

is

conducted

through inside and outside prison work, but also through inside and outside prison work.
with the psychologists, social workers, and
educators intervention.
The preparation for reintegration into society of The preparation for reintegration into society of
offenders starts six months prior to release.

offenders starts three months prior to release.

However, this activity is solely theoretical since In Azerbaijan, according to the law, there is an
there is no linkage between a prison facility and Adaptation Center where every offender is sent to
outside institutions or organizations. Offenders after release. There, offenders are provided
normally receive general information about the accommodation, food, job consultation, and 400
life outside prison.

USD. But so far, the place has been unfunctional.

28

Ministry of Justice of Azerbaijan Republic, 2010, Ministry of Justice of Azerbaijan 2010

Presentation, p 26.
29
Idem, p 16.
30
Idem, p 22.

27

Alternative methods to detention

Taking into consideration the Azerbaijani Criminal Code, we can observe the
tendency of leaning toward a democratic approach of their criminal justice system:
punishment is applied with a view of restoration of social justice, correction of
condemned and prevention of committing new crimes by condemned and other
persons.31 However, one must wonder what this type of punishment means and how
has it been implemented so far?
Also, the Azerbaijani criminal justice system has different forms of carrying
sentences, apart from imprisonment, and that is public work and corrective
work.32 Azerbaijan does not have a Probation System, like Romania has, and even
the sentences carried inside of a Community (Settlement) Penitentiary Institution
mean imprisonment. Therefore, these forms of sentences are rather seen as
rehabilitative activities for offenders in prison than anything alternative. And in the
Azerbaijani law for carriage of sentences we understand that the sentence of public
work shall be carried out by the officer of justice in public places identified by the
competent executive authority with jurisdiction over the convicts place of
residence.33
In addition, the Azerbaijani criminal justice system can impose restriction of
freedom meaning the maintenance of the condemned, which has reached eighteen
at the moment of adopting the court decision, in special establishment without
isolation from the society, but in condition of implementing supervision on him.34
The conditions for this type of sentence are:
-

for those who find themselves at their first conviction for deliberate
crimes for which they receive one to three years of sentence,

for criminal negligence, one to five years of sentence,

31

Criminal
Code
of
the
Azerbaijan
Republic
http://www.legislationline.org/documents/section/criminal-codes/country/43, accessed on November
27, 2010, art. 41.2.
32
Idem, art. 42.
33
Code of the Azerbaijan Republic for Carriage of Sentences, (approved by the Law of July 14, 2000
and effective as of September 1st, 2000. Amended and revised as of March 1st, 2004), art. 34.1.
34
Criminal
Code
of
the
Azerbaijan
Republic
http://www.legislationline.org/documents/section/criminal-codes/country/43, accessed on November
27, 2010, art. 53.

28

replacing public work and corrective work for which they receive
no more than one year of sentence.35

Based on the Criminal Code, we can observe the interest of Azerbaijani

policy makers toward a restorative approach to the criminal justice system: the
person who committed a crime for the first time, not representing big public danger,
can be released from the criminal liability if he has voluntary pled guilty, actively
promoted disclosing of a crime, has indemnified or has otherwise removed the harm
caused as a result of a crime.36 Also, if the court appoints compulsory medical
treatment of a convict for alcoholic or drug addiction as well as mental disorders,
such treatment arrangements shall be made by the institution or agency carrying out
the sentence during the period of sentence.37 The question remains if these
specifications are applied.
The same Azerbaijani law for carriage of sentences highlights the execution of
sentences of custodial restraint, which happens near their (i.e. offenders) place of
residence38, and which can be seen as an alternative sentence to prison. But we do
not know in how many cases it has been used.
Implementing programs in prisons requires an openness of the criminal
justice system and an interest toward alternatives to detention. Azerbaijan seems to
have both of these two, at least on paper, but it would be important to find out,
perhaps in a future paper, how much the section VII regarding Supervision of
Convicts on Probation from the law of carriage of sentences is a real practical
substitute.
As mentioned previously, as an alternative method to detention Romania has
a Probation System implemented in 200039.

35

Ibidem
Idem, art. 72.
37
Code of the Azerbaijan Republic for Carriage of Sentences, (approved by the Law of July 14, 2000
and effective as of September 1st, 2000. Amended and revised as of March 1st, 2004), art. 17.1.
38
Idem, art. 52.1.
39
Government Ordinance 92/2000 regarding the function of services for reintegration and
supervision.
36

29

Cultural differences
Based on the fact that Azerbaijan is predominately an Islamic country, while
Romania is a Christian one, and that Azerbaijan was part of the Soviet Union until
1991, while Romania was not, one could argue the multiple differences. For instance,
in Azerbaijan convicts shall wear identical uniforms at penitentiary institutions; the
form of such outfit shall be specified in the Internal Disciplinary Policy.40 In
Romania, there is no obligation for offenders to wear certain clothing. Moreover, in
Azerbaijan convicts shall be prohibited from keeping and using cash, securities and
valuables as well as other items specified by the penitentiary institutions Internal
Disciplinary Policy, in order to enforce compliance with the terms and conditions of
carriage of sentence.41 Offenders use a personal account on a non-cash basis, but the
non-cash basis is only maintained in some facilities, while some prisoners may
have the privilege to spend cash. Romanian prisoners, on the other hand, can use
their own money as they please in a penitentiary, usually spent at the facilitys
store.42
In addition, Azerbaijani adult prisoners who can work and receive a wage or
pension are required to pay for clothes and their meal. And those deviating from
work shall be deducted this amount from their personal accounts.43 We can find this
statement also in the law for carriage of sentences, in which it is stated that capable
convicts of age paid salaries or pensions shall pay for the food and clothes provided,
except for special food products or special clothing; [] the cost of food and clothes
shall be paid monthly within the limits of actual monthly expenditures.44 The rest of
offenders receive all these on the states expense. Romanian prisoners on the other

40

Idem, art. 74.3.

Idem, art. 74.4.
42
Order of the Ministry of Justice, June 24, 2010, for approving the Regulation regarding safe places
of detention under the National Administration of Penitentiaries. Published in the Official Monitor of
Romania, Part I.
43
Regulations for Internal Disciplines in Penitentiaries, (approved by Decree No.13-T dated March
24, 2004 of the Ministry for Justice of Azerbaijan Republic), art. 301.
44
Code of the Azerbaijan Republic for Carriage of Sentences, (approved by the Law of July 14, 2000
and effective as of September 1st, 2000. Amended and revised as of March 1st, 2004), art. 91.6.
41

30

hand, regardless of working status, are not required to pay for anything, and clothing
for example is provided if requested.45
Azerbaijan puts a great emphasis on working in prison leading up to stating
that rejection to work or disruption of professional activity without a legitimate
reason shall be deemed a breach of the rules for carriage of sentences and shall
constitute grounds for application of disciplinary actions against, or holding convicts
financially liable.46 In contract, in Romania, offenders are allowed to work if they
want to.47 However, the latest Romanian law that modifies and completes the law
regarding the carriage of sentences states that offenders can be asked to work based
on their physical and mental ability and also, based on the doctors advice.48 This
modification came as a shock to the civil society who warned that imposing work on
offenders is a human rights violation, especially in the light of improper conditions to
work and almost no choices in regard to fitting ones educational and professional
background.
Interestingly enough is that Azerbaijani offenders have the right to use the
phone and send letters on the prisons expense, based on a set of conditions. But, the
penitentiary institutions management shall censor written communications /
correspondence sent and received by convicts, except correspondence to and from
their counselors or other persons duly authorized to provide legal assistance and
counsel.49 Convicts letters sent to state institutions, non-governmental
organizations and officials shall be accompanied by cover letters of penitentiary
management. Cover letters shall reflect on view of penitentiary management on the
described matter.50 In comparison, Romanian prisoners have to pay for their own

45

Order of the Ministry of Justice, June 24, 2010 for approving the Regulation regarding safe places
of defention under the National Administration of Penitentiaries. Published in the Official Monitor of
Romania, Part I.
46
Code of the Azerbaijan Republic for Carriage of Sentences, (approved by the Law of July 14, 2000
and effective as of September 1st, 2000. Amended and revised as of March 1st, 2004), art. 95.6.
47
Law no. 275, July 4th, 2006 for carriage of sentences and measures ordered by the court during the
criminal trial, published in the Official Monitor of Romania no. 627, July 20, 2006, art. 57.2.
48
Law no. 83, May 13, 2010 for modifying and complete Law no. 275, July 4th, 2006 for carriage of
sentences and measures ordered by the court during the criminal trial. Published in the Official
Monitor of Romania, Part I no. 329, May 19, 2010, art. 23.
49
Idem, art. 83.2.
50
Regulations for Internal Disciplines in Penitentiaries, (approved by Decree No.13-T dated March
24, 2004 of the Ministry for Justice of Azerbaijan Republic), art. 118.

31

phone charges and mail stamps, and if they can afford it, they can make phone calls
and send letters as many as they want. And their correspondence is strictly private.51
Azerbaijan has a particular focus on their juveniles allowing parents to be
part of their offspring rehabilitation: parental committees may be established at
rehabilitation institutions composed of parents or other close relatives of the convicts
in order to increase the effectiveness of the rehabilitation effect on convicts and assist
the rehabilitation institutions management in rehabilitation / reformation work;
operation of the parental committee shall be governed by the normative legal act
approved by the competent executive authority.52
When it comes to quarantine, in Romania, the new prisoners follow a 21 days
of quarantine and at the very beginning of their arrival at the facility they are
washed and, if necessary, have their hair cut, and follow a deworming procedure.53
In Azerbaijan, newly admitted convicts shall undergo comprehensive sanitary
disinfection; during disinfection, hair and beards shall be shaved off54, without
exception.
In Azerbaijani prisons offenders are not allowed to: sell, present or give away
personal items and other goods to other offenders; play gambling games; get tattoos;
use foul language and profanities; put or hang photos, pictures from newspapers,
magazines on walls, beds or doors. Some of these restrictions are similar to those in
Romanian prisons, although they are normally not followed. Selling different items is
another form of currency, getting a tattoo is a form of expression, of belonging, of
status, and cursing and engaging in illegal activities while in prison is more as a
lifestyle.
What stood up when reading the laws regarding the prison system in these
two countries is that in Azerbaijan a person can be exiled from Azerbaijan Republic,

51

Order of Ministry of Justice, June 24, 2010 for approving the Regulation regarding safe places of
defention under the National Administration of Penitentiaries. Published in the Official Monitor of
Romania, Part I, art. 43.3.
52
Code of the Azerbaijan Republic for Carriage of Sentences, (approved by the Law of July 14, 2000
and effective as of September 1st, 2000. Amended and revised as of March 1st, 2004), art. 131.2.
53
Order of Ministry of Justice, June 24, 2010, for approving the Regulation regarding safe places of
defention under the National Administration of Penitentiaries. Published in the Official Monitor of
Romania, Part I, art. 43.2.
54
Regulations for Internal Disciplines in Penitentiaries, (approved by Decree No.13-T dated March
24, 2004 of the Ministry for Justice of Azerbaijan Republic), art. 318.

32

according to their Criminal Code.55 Furthermore, Azerbaijan is at war with Armenia

over Nagorno-Karabakh territory, and this can be the reason for the existence of
military units56 that carry our military felonies. Something Romania does not have.
Also, Azerbaijan condemns abortion only if the abortion is done by a doctor
who is out of medical institutions57 or by a person who does not have special
medical education58. While in Romania, besides those two crimes, the abortion is
considered a crime if the pregnancys stage exceeded 14 weeks. After 14 weeks of
pregnancy it is considered that the fetus had developed a brain and can feel pain.
Finally, Azerbaijan also pays close attention to gangs, hooliganism, and
ecological crimes in its Criminal Code, something that Romania, again, does not
include in either of the present Criminal Code or in the new one (the Criminal Code
project).
Specificities of the two prison systems
As we mentioned previously, the Azerbaijani Law for Carriage of Sentences
focuses on ensuring the rehabilitation of convicts59 by identifying the tools for
rehabilitation of convicts60, applying rehabilitation tools with respect to
convicts61, and ensuring and promoting involvement of competent executive
authorities, other institutions, agencies or organizations, public funds, and individuals
in rehabilitation of convicts62. Consequently, the sentences shall be carried out,

55

Criminal
Code
of
the
Azerbaijan
Republic
http://www.legislationline.org/documents/section/criminal-codes/country/43, accessed on November
27, 2010, art. 42.0.9.
56
Code of the Azerbaijan Republic for Carriage of Sentences, (approved by the Law of July 14, 2000
and effective as of September 1st, 2000. Amended and revised as of March 1st, 2004), section IV,
chapter XVI.
57
Criminal
Code
of
the
Azerbaijan
Republic
http://www.legislationline.org/documents/section/criminal-codes/country/43, accessed on November
27, 2010, art. 141.1.
58
Idem, art. 141.2.
59
Code of the Azerbaijan Republic for Carriage of Sentences, (approved by the Law of July 14, 2000
and effective as of September 1st, 2000. Amended and revised as of March 1st, 2004), art. 2.1.
60
Idem, art. 2.2.
61
Idem, art. 2.3.
62
Ibidem

33

rehabilitation tools shall be applied to convicts, and assistance shall be provided to

persons released in accordance with the then-current applicable laws.63
But what does rehabilitation mean in Azerbaijani criminal justice system?
Rehabilitation of convicts is a set of measures with an aim to stimulate convicts to
abide by the law and to form the sense of respect and esteem with respect to people,
society, labor, traditions, and customs of social co-existence. Described below are the
principal convict rehabilitation tools:
-

pre-determined order (regime) for carrying out and serving sentences

educational work

socially useful work

general education

vocational training

social influences64

The law also mentions that rehabilitation tools shall be applied to convicts
on a case-by-case basis given the kind of the offence, degree and nature of social risk
of the committed offence, personality and behavior of the convict.65 Moreover, the
officer of justice shall be responsible for carrying out inflictions involving
rehabilitation practices.66
Like Romania, Azerbaijan also encourages working with public organizations
(or NGOs) in order to provide offenders with the means for a proper rehabilitation
and, eventually, reintegration.67
But analyzing further the Azerbaijani law, it is said that the sentence of
rehabilitation activities shall be carried out at the place of the convicts principal
employment68, which can be understood that working in prison is considered a form
of rehabilitation. Interestingly enough is that from my personal communication with
representatives of the public organizations, only 15% of offenders in Azerbaijani
prisons work.

63

Idem, art. 5.3.

Idem, art. 8.
65
Ibidem
66
Idem, art. 15.5.
67
Idem, art. 20.
68
Idem, art. 40.
64

34

Also, it is stated that prison area shall be divided into restricted and
production areas.69 Even medical treatment penitentiary shall be divided into
treatment restricted area and production area.70 All these statements emphasize that
working in prison is seen as a form of rehabilitation. Furthermore, apart from the
guards, there are no specialists, such as social workers, psychologists, and educators
working in prison. Even if it is mentioned that penitentiary staff shall [] conduct
education / correction work with convicts71 the only rehabilitative activity a nonspecialist staff can coordinate is supervise offenders at work.
In Romania, both the prison system and the probation system highlights the
need for rehabilitation programs, implemented either by the specialists in prisons
(social workers, psychologists, educators) and probation officers, or by the civil
society through different NGOs projects. One of the issues regarding rehabilitation
programs in prisons and probation in Romania is the lack of evaluation of such
programs. No one really knows if they work. However, the prison administration has
started a year ago a National Strategy for Social Reintegration, calling all those
social actors involved in working with offenders in the hope of developing a
consolidated action plan to assist offenders throughout their imprisonment and after
release.
The latest changes to the Romanian law for carriage of sentences encourage
offenders to work voluntarily in exchange of free days of sentence.72 Also, the law
adds the existence of a multi-disciplinary team who can determine if an offender
should be moved to an easier regime in the light of a proper conduct, increasing,
therefore, the chances for social reintegration post-release.73 Azerbaijan on the other
hand, as mentioned previously, has an Adaptation Center that can help reintegrate
former prisoners, which is not very clear if it is functional at the moment.
And finally, Azerbaijan has a parole system and those offenders release on
parole shall be supervised by the officer of justice of the court having jurisdiction
69

Regulations for Internal Disciplines in Penitentiaries, (approved by Decree No.13-T dated March
24, 2004 of the Ministry for Justice of Azerbaijan Republic), art. 23.
70
Idem, art. 29.
71
Idem, art. 54.
72
Law no. 83, May 13, 2010 for modifying and completing Law no. 275, July 4th, 2006 for carriage
of sentences and measures ordered by the court during the criminal trial. Published in the Official
Monitor of Romania, Part I no. 329, May 19, 2010, art. 24 and art. 43.
73
Idem, art. 2 and art. 44.

35

over the convicts place of residence.74 In contrast, the parole system in Romania
has been recently included in the new Criminal Code (still not adopted, but started to
be implemented in specific areas, through a series of laws). Until now, Romania did
not use to supervise those released from prison. But soon, probation officers will add
a new duty to their job requirements.
Opportunities for social intervention
In the following I will insist on the alternative methods to detention and what
it can be done in regard to rehabilitation and reintegration.
Nowadays we hear more often about restorative mechanisms as part of the
criminal justice system. Finding concepts such as restoration of social justice in the
Azerbaijani Criminal Code, one can only wonder about the potential for
implementing restorative principles in prisons and probation. The presence of the
probation system in Romania, as an alternative to prison, and the new Criminal and
Civil Codes open a platform of opportunities for the development of the criminal
justice system.
Both countries refer to work, either if it is public work or corrective
work in Azerbaijan, or community work in Romania. The concept of community
work in Romania, as part of the probation sentence, can be rehabilitative as long as
the offender is given the meaning of why he or she is doing that work. Working can
also be rehabilitative if it is complemented with social, psychological and / or
educational assistance.
Talking about probation, we need to mention that we find in the Azerbaijani
laws concepts such as officer of justice, which is described in terms a probation
officer in Romania is. As long as an officer has attributions beyond supervision of
offenders, such as counseling and mentoring, rehabilitation can be achieved.
In the Azerbaijani laws the restriction of freedom and the sentence of
custodial restraint are considered alternative measures. To what extent are they
really alternatives is hard to understand from this simple analysis, but it would be of
interest to look in more depth at these types of sentences.
74

Code of the Azerbaijan Republic for Carriage of Sentences, (approved by the Law of July 14, 2000
and effective as of September 1st, 2000. Amended and revised as of March 1st, 2004), art. 178.

36

So far, from what we understand from these laws, rehabilitation seems to be

related to education, social intervention, and working while one is serving a sentence.
Based on both set of laws from Romania and Azerbaijan, rehabilitation can
be achieved, at least in theory. The officer of justice (Azerbaijan) and the
probation officer (Romania), alongside specialists who work in prison, can
implement rehabilitative programs. But these programs in prisons need to be
continued in community, which can be achieved through the collaboration with the
civil society. The criminal justice system needs to implement a rehabilitativereintegrative strategy if it wants to be efficient.
In this paper we also spoke about work as a rehabilitative form of activity as
long as it is not forced on offenders, and helps them to maintain or develop a set of
skills that could eventually benefit them once released. This work can be paid or
unpaid as voluntary work. Voluntary work is encouraged by the Romanian law, but
as long partnerships are not formed in order to create a platform for volunteering in
which offenders can make amends directly to their victims or to the wider
community, this concept of volunteering is doomed to fail.
The above-mentioned rehabilitative-reintegrative strategy can be realized
through a center such as the Adaptation Center in Azerbaijan or a National Strategy
of Social Reintegration in Romania. But it can only work with the presence of
specialists, a sustainable network of stakeholders, and governmental funding.
Conclusions
This article was meant to shed a light on the general situation regarding the
two prison systems in Romania, and respectively Azerbaijan.
In the following, I will base my conclusions on giving an interpretation to
those ideas analyzed here, taking into consideration that so far I have only been
analyzing data and not interpreting them as well.
Creating work that lead to opportunities for offenders should be a priority for
officials. Working while in prison and probation can give offenders a sense of
meaning, but also it can help offenders to make amends, maintain or develop new
skills and knowledge, and become part of the social life. If work is paid, offenders

37

can support themselves while imprisoned or they can even support their own
families.
Partnerships between institutions and even between systems from different
countries can build the know-how between experts in order to improve their own
workplace and make the systems they work in effective.
I cannot stress enough the importance of this dual rehabilitative-reintegrative
intervention. The Romanian professor Gheorghe Florian PhD once mentioned that
the actual problem is not the recidivism of offenders, which is caused by the
inefficiency of these rehabilitative-reintegrative interventions, but our lack as a
system to prevent new crimes and so, new criminals who enter into our prison and
probation systems. He argued that if a society has to deal only with re-offences made
by the same offenders and not new crimes made by new comers, than it is a society
way safer than others. But is it really? If a criminal justice system fails to reintegrate
offenders, what is the use of it, anyway? Moreover, dealing with the same offenders
who become experienced offenders can set a bad example for the potentially new
ones. These recidivists could help in the making of new criminals through their own
example. In this order to ideas, rehabilitation programs for offenders are crucial, as
are the reintegrative programs.
Also, it is very important to insist on the development of alternative
mechanisms to incarceration. It does not necessarily need the establishment of a
totally different system, but it needs the social actors within the criminal justice
system to use their resources in producing such alternatives. The anchors needed in
order to operate new mechanisms are already mentioned in the laws.
Lastly, Romania has a civil society for more than 20 years and Azerbaijan has
a Public Committee created four years ago. These community agents can collaborate
with the system and help it develop. As the Romanian professor Sorina Poledna PhD
once said, solutions consist in collaboration and this is the only way we can create
a safer society by improving the prison and probation systems.

38

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