The Directorate for the Execution of Sanctions of North Macedonia began applying the Rulebook on the manner of proceedings of the disciplinary commission in charge of imposing disciplinary measures against sentenced persons.

The Rulebook aims to help the authorities in North Macedonia to provide better protection of the rights of the sentenced persons, and is a result of the close cooperation between the joint EU and Council of Europe action “Enhancing the capacities of the penitentiary system and the external oversight mechanism in North Macedonia” and the penitentiary institutions in North Macedonia.

In order to align the document with the CPT standards, the European Prison Rules, the Mandela Rules and best European practices, an international Council of Europe consultant was involved during the preparation phase. The Rulebook enables sentenced persons subjected to disciplinary procedure to be informed about their rights and legal rules governing the entire process. The Rulebook also provides a proper guidance for the prison administration on the composition, the mandate and the procedure in front of the disciplinary commission.

This is one of the five Rulebooks prepared under the Action “Enhancing the capacities of the penitentiary system and the external oversight mechanism in North Macedonia” that is co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe within the “Horizontal Facility for Western Balkans and Turkey II” and implemented by the Council of Europe.