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United Nations Norms and Guide-lines in Criminal Justice - From Standard-setting to Implementation

NCJ Number
77040
Date Published
1980
Length
37 pages
Annotation
This working paper presents the agenda of the sixth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, which was held in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1980.
Abstract
The congress seeks to foster the eventual creation of a coherent network of human rights standards in the administration of criminal justice. The paper focuses initially on a survey of existing and emerging United Nations norms and guidelines in criminal justice as background material for the discussion of new norms and guidelines and general principles for more effective implementation. This information summarizes the main features of the principal instruments and draft tests pertinent to criminal justice. Next, recommended new United Nations guidelines are considered. This section outlines areas of priority in which the congress may wish to provide policy guidance, as recommended by the committee on crime prevention and control and endorsed by the economic and social council and the regional preparatory meetings. Four areas of priority for guidelines which have been suggested include improvement in the method of selection and training of judges, providing minimum rules for the treatment of offenders in the community, strengthening inmate grievance procedures, and facilitating the return of persons convicted of crime abroad to their domiciles to serve their sentences. The paper concludes with general principles for the more effective implementation of United Nations norms and guidelines at the national, regional, and international levels. Significant obstacles to successful implementation at all levels include lack of coordinated action, public apathy, and lack of funds. Community participation and reliance on public opinion are valuable assets for successful implementation. At the international level, ratification of a number of international instruments, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is important. The paper provides 92 footnotes. (Author abstract modified)