SPERU+ Further Support the Prison Reform in Ukraine

This project was co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe in co-operation with the main partners, namely the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, the State Department of Execution of Criminal Sanctions and other relevant national stakeholders of the penitentiary system in Ukraine.

SPERU+ aligns with the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” 2023-2026. Particularly, the Project addressed the objective of ‘continued support to the authorities in building modern prison and probation systems with a focus on shifting from punitive to rehabilitative approaches in the context of war and post-war recovery period’.

Building upon the successes of the EU and CoE Joint Project "Support the Prison Reform in Ukraine" (JP SPERU), SPERU+ strategically leverages the reform objectives outlined in Ukraine's "Strategy for Penitentiary Reform 2021-2026." The overarching goal was the creation of a humane penitentiary system that facilitates the social reintegration of inmates, through the following:

Further revision of existing/introduction of new principles of modern prison management, in line with Council of Europe standards and best practices, including addressing shortcomings identified in ECtHR judgements against Ukraine.
Improvement of the application of rehabilitation approaches and instruments to shift from a punitive to a more rehabilitative regime.

The project implementation ended in December 2023.

Project documentation

Work plan (September - December 2023)

Useful information

Project news

Back Council of Europe hands over IT equipment to State Department for Execution of Criminal Sanctions of Ukraine

Vladislav SPIRLICENCO

Modified 2 Years ago.

@ Council of Europe

On 12 December 2023, the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine Maciej Janczak met Serhiy Hrechaniuk, Head of the State Department for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions of Ukraine, to hand over computer equipment.

The purchase of 40 sets of IT equipment (including personal computers, multifunction devices, uninterrupted power supply units and software licences) took place within the scope of the Joint Project "Further Support to the Penitentiary Reform in Ukraine plus" (SPERU+). 40 prisons in Ukraine received one set of equipment each to facilitate their access to the Unified register of convicted persons, improving case management in these institutions.

"The State Department for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions of Ukraine is a reliable partner of the Council of Europe, with whom we have been closely cooperating within the framework of our Joint Programme with the European Union for many years. We are extremely happy to strengthen the work of the Department's employees <…> with the Unified Register of Convicts and Detainees, and thereby contribute to the process of digitalization of the penitentiary system," said Mr Janczak, handing over the equipment.

The parties confirmed the need to continue cooperation in embedding new principles of modern management of penitentiary institutions in accordance with the standards and best practices of the Council of Europe. This includes eliminating the shortcomings identified by the European Court of Human Rights in its decisions against Ukraine, as well as expanding the use of rehabilitation approaches and tools for the transition from a punitive to a more rehabilitative regime.

Ukraine 12 December 2023