Cooperation in the promotion of the reform process of the Judiciary and the Prison System in the I.R. of Iran

Project Number:      FS/IRN/S03

Title:                     Cooperation in the promotion of the reform process of the Judiciary and the Prison System in the I.R. of Iran

Background

Effectiveness and efficiency of the Judiciary and prison system

Judiciary

As far as the effectiveness, efficiency and accountability of the judiciary are concerned, the core problem seems to lay in the high number of pending cases to be settled, which might adversely affect the quality of justice, since the continued pressure on judges for settling cases forces them to shorten both time and attention devoted to the different phases during the instruction of cases.

Prison/Penitentiary System

With respect to the situation of prisons, the excessive use of criminalization laws and enforcement of imprisonment sentences has resulted in the overcrowding of prisons in Iran. As of July 2004, the total number of prison population in Iran was 133,658. Of these figures, 96.46 were male, and 3.54 female prisoners. 45 % of total prisoners are drug-related offenders. 1.78% of all prisoners are under the age of 19.

Government policy, strategy and plans for the specific target area

A series of steps have already been initiated in the Judiciary and the Prison system in Iran aimed at ensuring access to justice, quality of justice, and the rule of law.

Since the appointment of Ayatollah Shahroodi as  Head of Judiciary in 1999, he has made judicial reform one of the main priorities in administration of judicial system in Iran. In 2000, the High Council of Judicial Reform was established, comprising of high-ranking judicial authorities. The Council was mandated with the setting of policies and priorities for the judicial reform in Iran and their follow-ups. As the secretariat of the Council, the Center for Judicial Reform Studies was also established as responsible for studying the main areas where action is required, and to propose specific objective-oriented recommendations regarding the reform of the judicial system.

In 2000, the Iranian Judiciary launched the first 5-year Judicial Reform plan. This plan was intended to enhance the planning and policymaking capacity in the field of criminal justice and securing the rule of law. It focused on improving the criminal policy of the Government, according to which all repressive (penal and non-penal) and preventive reactions to criminality had to be addressed.

Upon completion of the first Judicial reform plan, the second Plan (2004-2008) has recently been developed and launched. This plan is based on packages of objective-oriented projects with their own implementation mechanisms, which all together, form a comprehensive plan. In each project, a specific authority or entity has been identified with responsibility of management of the project and the follow-up for its implementation. Each project also includes operational schemes, with assessment indicators specifying the rate of achievement of project objectives.

The prison system has also been the subject of the reform process. In recent years, emphasis has been placed by relevant authorities on reducing the number of the prison population, and to ameliorate the conditions of prisoners and other individuals under detention. Iran is among the countries with one of the highest rates of prison population in the world. As an important element of the crime prevention policy of the State, after-release care centers have been established to monitor the social conditions of prisoners, after their release. Currently there are also 23 juvenile correction centers to keep people under the age of 18 separate from other prisoners.

Cooperation in the promotion of the reform process of the Judiciary and the Prison System in the I.R. of Iran

This project is aimed at supporting Iranian authorities' efforts towards the reform of the Judiciary, particularly with regard to the administration of and access to Justice. With regard to the Prison System, the project will support the steps taken by the Government in promoting cross-fertilization and evaluation initiatives with the involvement of the international community, the further developing of training capacities of the prison staff and the strengthening of cooperation with prison organizations and NGOs abroad for the identification of lesson-learned and good practices.