The country background papers present information about the penitentiary system in Bulgaria, Belgium, Germany, Lithuania and Spain. The information includes: (1) legislation and other applicable regulations governing the penitentiary system; (2) structure of the system (types and number of facilities, location, management, etc.); (3) statistical data (prison population, capacity of penitentiary facilities, categories of inmates, budget, etc.); (4) studies and reports by domestic and international institutions and organizations dealing with prison-related issues; (5) additional information on the penitentiary system.

The country background papers are based on the developed Methodology for data collection and analysis on the penitentiary system within the Re-socialization of offenders in the EU: enhancing the role of the civil society (RE-SOC) initiative.

Country background paper - Bulgaria (Adobe PDF, 260 KB)
Country background paper - Spain (Adobe PDF, 310 KB)
Country background paper - Belgium (Adobe PDF, 343 KB)
Country background paper - Germany (Adobe PDF, 277 KB)
Country background paper - Lithuania (Adobe PDF, 357 KB)

*Project "Re-socialisation of offenders in the EU: enhancing the role of the civil society (RE-SOC)" (JUST/2011/JPEN/AG/2947). Project leader: Center for the Study of Democracy (Bulgaria), 2013-2014

With financial support from the Criminal Justice Programme of the European Union