Ministry rebuts claim that Corradino prison is in breach of restorative justice law

The ministry for home and parliamentary affairs has rebutted claims that Corradino Correctional Facility is in breach of the Restorative Justice Act, in view of the fact that it is receiving parole applications made by inmates.

In an interview with this newspaper, Mid-Dlam Ghad-Dawl director George Busuttil alleged that the fact that a substantial number of applications' for parole had been received from inmates, indicated the law which introduced parole to the justice system - the Restorative Justice Act, which came into force late last month - is being bypassed or ignored by the authorities.

In its reaction, the ministry said that the authorities at the facility are at this stage receiving applications which, in due course, would be submitted to the Parole Clerk and the Offender Assessment Board, which is in the process of being set up.

"The authorities at the facility are in no way assessing these applications, be it in relation to eligibility or any other matter. Such assessments plainly fall outside the scope of such authorities.

"Therefore, it cannot be argued that CCF authorities have in any way acted in infringement of the Restorative Justice Act. It is felt that such criticism levelled against CCF is unfair, particularly when these authorities have taken the initiative to collect applications for assessment by the responsible board once this is in place."

The ministry said this arrangement is directly meant to start the process so that the parole clerk and the offender assessment board may start their work in earnest. "The ministry does not in any manner agree that such a procedure could compromise prisoners' rights."

MDD director George Busuttil said the law clearly stipulates that inmates must be informed of their eligibility for parole four months before they become eligible. "Obviously, none of those who applied for parole had been informed four months ago, because the law did not even exist until 27 January, " Busuttil said.

The Restorative Justice Act in fact lays down a very specific procedure to regulate applications for parole. Section 3, paragraph 7 (c) states that the clerk of parole has to "make all the necessary arrangements to inform the prisoner who will be eligible to parole, four months before the date of eligibility, so that if the prisoner wants, he may apply to the Parole Board to be considered for parole".

But when it came to announcing and applying the new system in prison, a notice was stuck up in all divisions of Corradino prison, inviting inmates to apply for parole: despite the evident lack of preparation to handle applications.

The same law also provides for the creation of a number of boards and committees, among others the evaluate eligibility to parole. The MDD director reiterates that several of these committees remain non-existent, even after the law came into force.

In its statement, the ministry said that that administrative changes within CCF have been taking place, as a result of which three managers were recruited, further to the recruitment of an education coordinator. "As a result of such reforms, personal dossiers are being prepared by the care and reintegration unit within CCF, thereby paving the way for Care Plans and other documentation involving the offender assessment board.

"Moreover, new courses are being made available to inmates, with inmate participation in such courses on the increase. It has to be pointed out that the authorities within CCF did not wait for the entry into force of the Restorative Justice Act to commence reforms - reforms had already started when the Act was very much in its infancy."

The ministry said the restorative justice reform was a major one and that it has been in the making over the last four years.