Between 27 and 31 January 2014 CILC conducted an inception mission to Montenegro for the start-up of the recently accorded project Support to the probation service and the system of alternative sanctions in Montenegro. In Podgorica CILC together with its Hague-based partner – the Netherlands Helsinki Committee (NHC) and a key expert of the Dutch Probation Service discussed the alignment of the new project with a fruitful ongoing Twinning Project called Support to Penitentiary Reform in Montenegro. As the projects partly overlap in implementation period, both teams strived to ensure their best possible connection, avoiding the overburdening of Montenegrin staff and counterparts. Based on the discussions a tailored activity schedule was drafted and sent to the Montenegrin Minister of Justice.
CILC and NHC see their new project as a timely Dutch follow-up to an initially EU launched path, guaranteeing Montenegro’s continuity in this relevant subject area of the criminal justice sector after the conclusion of the Twinning project. The needs identified in the current Twinning project that the Dutch bilateral project will focus on are:
- Specific needs of more awareness about probation work among active judges and prosecutors, and the general public;
- More capacity in the Montenegrin Probation Service to supervise and implement imposed alternative sanctions;
- More capacity and expertise in the Montenegrin Prison Service to focus on reintegration programmes for inmates;
- Agreements with local governments for the creating community service work places (community arrangements)
The project Support to the probation service and the system of alternative sanctions in Montenegro is funded by the Matra CoPROL-Programme of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.