- Funding Programme
- Year
- 2021
Improving the juvenile justice system and strengthening the education and training of penitentiary staff
The Commission supported a project aimed at assisting Slovenia in its efforts to improve the justice system by pursuing two directions, i.e., two components of the project: Component I involves introducing new legislation and policies that align with European standards and good practices in the juvenile criminal justice system. Component II focuses on improving the penitentiary system through enhanced training capacities of the prison administration and improved human resources policies applied to the prison staff by the Slovenian Prison Administration.
Context
The project addressed the need to improve the quality and efficiency of the criminal justice system in Slovenia. Firstly, it focused on reforming the juvenile justice system through the development of a future special penal act for juvenile offenders, along with comprehensive policies and measures that align with European standards and good practices. Secondly, it tackled long-standing issues related to the lack of organized education and training for prison staff and improvements in the treatment of prisoners.
Support delivered
This EU-funded project, carried out over 24 months by the Council of Europe, addressed improvements in Slovenia's justice system through two core components. Component I involved the creation of comprehensive legal review documents that align juvenile justice with European standards and facilitate legislative drafts for reform. Component II delivered outputs for the penitentiary system, including the development of a needs and risk assessment tool, a roadmap for its implementation, and the piloting of the tool.
Additionally, the project resulted in the creation of training curricula and the delivery of training programs to penitentiary staff, enhancing their skills and professionalism.
Key documents produced included strategic policy recommendations, training manuals, and accreditation proposals for educational pathways, contributing to sustainable improvements in the justice and penitentiary systems.
Results achieved
The project intended to achieve the following outcomes: 1) Slovenia’s juvenile criminal justice system is improved through new legislation and policies that are in line with European standards and good practices (Component I); 2) the treatment and better reintegration of prisoners are further enhanced; 3) the professionalism of prison staff is increased through enhanced training capacities of the prison administration; and 4) the human resources policy applied by the Slovenian Prison Administration is improved (Component 2).
More about the project
You can read the documents related to the project here: