If you believe that your human rights have been violated while you are in prison, you may submit a complaint about such violation. It is important for preventing an ongoing violation, preventing a future one or for obtaining compensation.
Read more about the following most common types of complaints:
If you believe that prison conditions are violating your rights, you should complain first to the prison staff and the head of the prison. According to the Imprisonment Code of Georgia if you consider that they have not reacted to your complaint properly you should complain further to the General director of the Special Penitentiary Service.
If you believe that a decision, or something done by prison officers, violated your rights, you should submit a complaint to the head of the prison, if your complaint relates to the action of the prison head you should submit a complaint to the general director of the special penitentiary service. The Special Penitentiary Service is an institution which oversees the functioning of all prisons in Georgia. It is obliged to examine your application.
According to the Georgian legislation you can normally appeal a decision of the prison administration in the court within one month of the date you received the decision. The time limit and procedure for appeal must be indicated in the decision.
If you want to complain about violence or a potential crime committed by a prison officer, read about specific procedures.
Generally, you can appeal any decision by the head of the prison to the General director of Special Penitentiary Service and their decision to the Minister of Justice. If the authority that considered your application has issued a decision in writing, the procedure and time limits for the appeal have to be indicated in it.
You should appeal decisions of the General director or the Minister of Justice to the Common Court. You should file the appeal within one month from the day you received the decision. The decision of the respective authority must also contain information about where and when to appeal.
Read more about your rights in the Common Court.
The Common Court has three levels:
- the court of first instance
- the court of appeal and
- the supreme court
Normally your claim can be examined at all three instances. Read more about appeals in Common Courts.
Some decisions may only be appealed in one or two levels in the Court.
example You may appeal to the court of first instance only a decision about the disciplinary punishment.
A decision about your disciplinary arrest should be appealed to the appeal court which is the final stage in this situation.
The prison staff and the head of the prison are responsible for conditions and good order in prison. Therefore, if other inmates have violated your rights, you should alert the prison staff or the head of the prison.
Read more about how to complain about crimes committed by fellow inmates.