The first paper describes the Demosthenes Program, which encourages and develops links between the Council of Europe and the countries of Central and Southeast Europe through a series of prison visits by a Council of Europe team, with seminars for penal-system staff. A major theme to emerge from the seminar debates involved the philosophical concepts of imprisonment. The legal and social status of prisons, staff, and prisoners in a democracy was seen as a priority issue by many participants. The second paper focuses on the context, philosophy, and issues in European prison rules. The paper notes that it is unlikely that there will be a new international version of European prison rules in the foreseeable future; however, there should be a further extension of the influence and applicability of these rules. The cornerstones of a modern treatment philosophy are discussed in a third paper; these are normalization, openness, and responsibility. A paper on the organization of the prison for the treatment of prisoners and the preparation of prisoners for release considers prerelease treatment, long-term imprisonment, short-term imprisonment, work, social rehabilitation, and prison leave. Another paper discusses the recruitment, training, and use of staff, followed by a presentation of prison population statistics for member states of the Council of Europe (1990 surveys). Laws, bills, and regulations related to prison affairs for each member state are listed. A 250-item bibliography and "News in Brief" from each member state